Utapri: The Next Generation
by rainediamond
Summary: Haruka has been with STARISH for five years now. One day she collapses during a concert. The guys take her to the hospital only to find out she's pregnant. But who is the dad? And what does Shining have to do with this? Plus, family secrets are revealed through Aijima Kotomi. Haruka x Everyone.
1. Chapter 1

Hi guys, this is my first Haruka x Everyone fanfic. If you don't like the possibility of one girl ending up with seven guys, don't read it. You have been warned. Please no flames.

Summary: Haruka has been with STARISH for five years now. One day she collapses during a concert. The guys take her to the hospital only to find out she's pregnant. But who is the dad? And what does Shining have to do with this?

Disclaimer: This is FAN-fiction. I do not own Uta no Prince Sama

Chapter 1: SHE'S WHAT!?

It was sunny and the perfect temperature for an open air concert, and that's just what STARISH was preparing for. They were performing tonight to announce the launch of their new album- Kono Eien no Ai (This Eternal Love).

Of course, they wouldn't be there if it weren't for their beloved composer. Haruka had been working tirelessly for months on the songs for their new album. Now it was their turn to show their appreciation for her by putting on one hell of a show.

As the sky began turning a brilliant gold with the setting of the sun, Haruka joined the guys in their dressing room. There was only an hour until showtime, and the twenty-two year old composer wanted to spend some time with her friends first.

"Oh, Haru-chan, come in!" Natusuki cheered, opening the door for her.

"Good luck, minna-san," Haruka said as she walked in.

Masato began, "It's all thanks to you Nanami-san. You put this group together, and you have been our amazing composer for five years. Without you, none of this would have been possible."

Haruka blushed, "E-eh, but it isn't just me! If it weren't for you guys, I wouldn't have gotten to Saotome Academy, and I wouldn't be who I am now."

"Enough of this talk," Ringo said as he passed by in the hallway, "how about you guys show Haru-chan the outfits Tomo-chan and I prepared for this concert."

The guys consented to do this, putting on a fashion show that made Haruka giggle. The outfits were stunning like usual, but the way the guys strutted with over-the-top sauciness made her cry from laughter. The all of the members of STARISH smiled at her affectionately.

"Showtime in five!" an intern called as he poked his head into the dressing room.

The guys were upset to be interrupted in their fun with Haruka, but they loved singing for her and their fans as well.

"Good luck, everyone!" Haruka cheered, high-fiving each of the guys on their way out of the dressing room.

"Enjoy, Princess Haruka," Cecil said as he kissed her hand with a flirtatious smile.

Syo swatted him away. "Oy, don't get to close!" he scolded as he and the others dragged Cecil towards the stage.

Haruka waved and smiled as the rounded the corner. 'Now to get to my seat...' she thought to herself. She watched them happily for the duration of the concert. When they were taking their final bows, she started to make her way back towards the stage to meet them.

Suddenly, she began to feel light-headed. A few minutes later, she blacked out near the dressing room.

...xXXx...

"That was awesome! I feel so pumped up right now!" Otoya cheered, fist-pumping the air.

"I agree," Tokiya stated, "it's invigorating to perform. I wonder what Nanami thought of this concert."

Ren smirked, "Yes, I'm sure the little lady was pleased."

Suddenly, they heard Cecil scream, "Haruka!"

The other six turned to look as Haruka collapsed. Masato barely managed to catch her in time before she hit the ground.

"AMBULANCE! Someone call and ambulance!" Tokiya shouted.

A stage hand called an ambulance, and within minutes, they heard the whine of the siren approaching.

Ren scooped Haruka up, thinking she was a bit heavier than usual, and carried her out the back door. Pushing through the crowds of fans, they made their way to the ambulance, all of them climbing in to the relatively small vehicle.

An hour later, the seven men sat in the waiting room, anticipating any news on Haruka's condition. Over the course of the hour, Tomochika and Ringo had joined them in waiting.  
After what seemed like an eternity, a single doctor emerged, the boys jumped up and followed him into a spacious room.

"Is she alright?" Masato asked in concern.

"She should be fine, she was just a bit dehydrated, and if I had to guess, she didn't eat enough today," the doctor replied. "Which one of you is her husband?"

"She isn't married,"Cecil explained.

"Her boyfriend then?"

Ringo smirked a bit, looking at the guys, "She doesn't have a boyfriend."

"Why is this so important?" Syo questioned.

"She is two months pregnant, that's why," Doctor Komiyama responded.

"She, she, she's WHAT!" Syo screamed.

"WHAT!" The guys screamed so loudly that it shook the building.

"As much as I would like to say it was me, I haven't touched the lady," Ren pondered.

"Well don't look at me!" Cecil cried.

Masato said, "I ever touched her."

"It wasn't me," Syo added.

"HAHA. Wrong, wrong wrong!"

Tomochika squeaked, "Oh no, not that voice."

Shining Saotome's head popped out of the air vent in the wall, followed shortly by the rest of his body. "True that none of you are Miss Nanami's boyfriend, but you are all the fathers."

"HUH?"

"You see, after your debut, I was determined to create the next generation of idols. STARISH and Miss Nanami together can create the 'happy pulse' that many search their whole lives for, and never find. I thought that if she were to have your children, then I could create a generation of super idols. The first three years of agency check-ups for Miss Nanami were to test her body's physical capacity. She passed with flying colors, she should be fine carrying multiple children. When she had her appendectomy last year, I had them remove some eggs to be fertilized. Then I had sperm samples collected from the seven of you a few months ago during your check-ups. During her most recent check-up, I had her impregnated by my private doctors. You are all the possible fathers."

"YOU DID WHAT!" everyone screamed at him.

"How could you do something like this?" Tokiya asked, barely controlling his rage.

Shining ignored him and continued talking,"To prepare for any inconveniences, a mansion is being prepared for your use, the 'no love' rule has been retracted, and the Shining Agency will pay for your cost of living. However, be warned that road ahead will be long and difficult. Adieu." With that, Saotome vanished.

"How many babies is she carrying?" Ringo asked the doctor.

Snapping out of his shock, the doctor replied, "It's hard to tell yet, but at least seven."

"Seven!" Tomochika exclaimed, "Oh, Haruka!"

"We- We're going to be fathers," Otoya said as he let out an uneasy breath of air.

**Raine: So, that was chapter one. Please R&amp;R, let me know what you think. Also, I will be trying to post a poll (if I can figure out how to) to determine if this fanfic will be just Haruka x STARISH, or if I should add Quartet Night, HEAVENS, or the teachers in later chapters. **

**Thanks for reading. :)**


	2. What Now?

Chapter 2: What now?

Raine: Hi, welcome to chapter two of my Utapri fanfiction! Exciting stuff. Please read and review!

Disclaimer: If I owned Uta no Prince-sama, I would not be on fanfiction, would I?

"Even after STARISH was formed, I still wanted to be the only one in her heart," Ren whispered.

Tokiya nodded, "I wanted to be with her, but I had no intention of sharing her as anything but a composer."

Otoya looked back and forth between the two of them. "I always dreamed of having a family with Nanami one day, maybe not like this, but she needs us right now. I'm sure we all dreamed of having her to ourselves, having families with her," the guys all blushed, remembering their fantasies, "but we need to be here for her. She was here for us, and now, if she will have me, I am going to give her and the babies all of my love, forever."

"I agree," Cecil began, "Haruka has been there for all of us. She helped us find our passion, inspired us, saved us, she helped us grow, she brought us together and created STARISH, and if I am good enough for someone like that, well that is more than enough for me. I know none of us wanted to share her, but I know I only want to be with her, no matter what."

Syo looked over at Haruka's still unconscious form. "She understood my passion, and over time, I fell more and more in love with her. If she'll have me, I want to be with her forever."

Natsuki smiled at Syo and looked at the young woman carrying his child. "Haru-chan is the most important person to me. She has accepted me- all of me- for who I am. Being with her every day is more than enough to make me the happiest man in the world."

"She gave me hope when I was lost, and she was kind to me even after I was cold and cruel. She liked me and my singing as Ichinose Tokiya, not just Hayato. She gave me heart and love. If she will still have me, I will stay with her and love her with all my soul, eternally."

"Nanami-san has a shy kindness that is both endearing and inspiring. She loves everyone and wants to make everyone happy. When I first saw her, she was singing with children in a park. Seeing her inspired me to pursue my love for music. She gave me the courage to be in the musical, and she has stirred feelings deep in my heart. I am in love with her, and if I must share  
this angel, at least it is with my friends and not someone like Otori Eiichi," Masato concluded.

Ren smirked at the thought. "I suppose that is true." He stroked Haruka's cheek gently. "This lady, she stirred passion in my soul. She made me love music, and when I fell in love with the music, I fell in love with the girl writing it too."

After agreeing to love and care for Haruka, the seven guys waited anxiously for her to wake up. After a few minutes, her eyelids began to flutter, and she stirred slightly.

"Minna-san, what happened?" she asked, looking at their faces in concern.

"Haruka, you are pregnant," Tomochika replied, deciding to break the news herself.

"EH!? But how is that possible? I haven't slept with anyone!"

The boys let out an audible sigh of relief.

"Shining had you impregnated by all of them," Ringo announced, pointing at STARISH.

"Oh dear!" she squeaked, putting a hand on her stomach, "how many are there?"

"At least seven," Tokiya answered her cautiously.

"What are we going to do? I don't want to be more trouble for all of you," Haruka panicked.

"We discussed it while you were sleeping, and if you will have us, we all want to be with you and only you, Haruka. We all love you with all of our hearts," Cecil spoke for all of them.

"But, where are we going to live, and, oh, I have never had a baby before! Neither have you guys! What if I am a terrible mother?"

Tokiya put his hands on her shoulders to try to calm Haruka down. When she didn't stop worrying, he surprised them all by placing a brief, but sweet kiss on her lips.

The other guys glared at him while Haruka finally stopped talking and looked at him. "Haruka," he further surprised her by using her given name, "pardon my forcefulness, but you are a wonderful, beautiful woman. There is no other woman on this planet with whom I would want to be with. I am positive that you will make a fantastic mother, so relax, you are startling the babies."

"Oh," that was the only sound that escaped her lips as she nodded at his words.

Natsuki said, "Shining is having a mansion built for us now, he is paying for everything, and he has removed the 'no love' rule for all of us."

"I believe that is a good place to start," Masato interjected.

"I am going to be strong," she began as she took a deep breath. "I love all of you so much. You have all helped me find myself and become stronger. I didn't plan on this, but I love you guys, and I will love our babies too."

She smiled shyly at the seven men who had changed her life, and her best friends, Tomo-chan and Tsukimiya-sensei. She could, no she would, get through this. After all, she had the love of seven wonderful men and the support of her friends.

Then a thought struck her, "What am I going to tell my family!?"

Raine: Chapter two finished. The next chapter will introduce Haruka's nameless parents and her grandmother. Then, the guys will call their parents. That can only result in a mess. Read on to find out. Stay tuned until next time, and thanks for reading!


	3. Meet the Family

**Chapter 3: Meet the Nanami Family**

**Raine: Hi! It's time for my exciting new chapter of Utapri: The Next Generation. Time to meet Haruka's unnamed parents. How are they going to react to their daughter being with seven men? Read to find out, and please review! Also, please answer the poll up on my profile!**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Utapri. I wish I did, though.**

"All right, we'll see you then. Hai! I love you, too. Bye." Haruka put the silver phone back in its cradle on the cold granite countertop. She turned to face STARISH, drawing a deep breath. "So, I told Obaa-chan that we would like to visit her this weekend. She said that it was a wonderful idea and she is preparing the guest rooms as we speak."

The guys had various emotions at the news. Otoya looked excited to see Haruka's grandmother again, completely forgetting that she might not take the news well. Cecil was ecstatic at the thought of meeting the wonderful lady who had raised his beloved Haruka. Tokiya was contemplative, worried about the possibility of a negative reaction, and what to do in case of such an event. Syo wore a blank expression, but his mind was in a turmoil, trying to figure out how to explain their situation to anyone and not sound like he needed to be admitted to a psych ward. Natsuki was thinking about the countryside. He grew up on a small farm when he was a child, so he was excited to see the rolling pastures and open air he missed in the city. Masato was practicing his calligraphy, but his shaking hand betrayed his internal state.

Ren just smirked at the rest of them, deciding t make the most of their distracted states. He placed his hand under Haruka's chin and brought her in for a passionate kiss. Haruka squeaked in surprise, but she soon lost herself in the kiss, letting out a slight moan when his tongue brushed her lips.

"Okay, that's enough," Cecil declared as he pulled Ren away from their princess.

"Don't worry, Lady, I'm sure we'll get to continue later," he said with a seductive wink. Haruka turned ten shades of scarlet at his statement.

...xxXXxx...

Three days later, when Friday finally rolled around, the guys woke up to find Haruka, pale and sweaty, leaning against the side of the toilet. She was panting slightly, her eyes closed as a pained expression furrowed her brows and twisted the hearts of the men.

Otoya gently helped her to her feet while Cecil brought over a cool washcloth to get her cleaned up. Haruka gingerly washed her face and brushed her teeth.

She smiled at them ruefully as she said, "I didn't expect to get morning sickness this far into the pregnancy. I was hoping I wouldn't get it at all."

"It's all right, Haruka," Tokiya said sweetly, "you are doing wonderfully, and we are all here for you. Here," he said, "look at how well the babies are doing."

Haruka smiled at the sonogram pictures they had gotten two weeks ago when they found out they were going to be parents. Since then, Haruka had been trying to adjust to the pregnancy, she wore looser clothing so people who didn't know wouldn't get suspicious, and because it made her feel less restricted. She was trying to become more casual with the guys, addressing them by their given names, and them her. Whenever she was having a hard time with the pregnancy and all of its circumstances, she would look at the sonogram to cheer herself up. The babies and their fathers were her source of strength.

Now, for the first time since getting the news, Haruka was wearing a shirt that showed her figure. It was just a plain gray t-shirt with a slight v-neck, but it showed her growing baby bump.

Natsuki was the first to notice this. His eyes grew wide. She is so cute, and our babies will be too! He walked over to Haruka. "Look, Haru-chan, you can see the babies growing," he exclaimed excitedly.

The pinkette looked down over her slightly larger breasts, and saw that you could indeed see that she was pregnant. She placed one hand on the protruding bump under her shirt.

The guys stared in wonder at the proof of their future. Natsuki looked at Haruka, a question in his eyes. She nodded with a sweet smile, so he gently placed one of his large hands on her abdomen. His eyes lit up and a huge grin graced his features.

"This is amazing! We've known for two weeks now, but this makes it feel so much more real. Thank you for going through with this Haru-chan," he whispered the last part in her ear before kissing her soft pink lips. He pulled back a moment later, still grinning.

Masato cleared his throat, uncomfortable because of the kiss. "We should make sure that we have all of our belongings gathered for the trip. We should leave here around two o'clock if we plan to be there in time for tea and dinner."

Everyone moved into the kitchen, searching for breakfast. Ren threw together a breakfast feast of omelets, french toast, and orange juice before everyone headed back to their dorm rooms for  
last-minute packing and showers.

Ren and Masato walked back to their room in silence. It wasn't an awkward silence, just a comfortable one. Neither had planned on their future going like this, but they were making the best of it. Ren sighed. He had to admit, if the little lamb had chosen someone eventually, the other six would be heart broken. Having to share, but having part of her was better than not having her at all.

Masato's thoughts were similarly contemplative, but he was pondering how to be a better father to his child than his father was to him. He would never want his child to fear him or be uncomfortable around him. He was determined to be gentle and loving, so he would be attentive to Haruka, and later their child. He wanted to be an active father and partner.

...xxXXxx...

Hours later, everyone was packed into the car like sardines. Haruka was sitting in the passenger seat beside Ren, who was driving. Tokiya was sitting in the middle of the middle row, trying to ignore the two high energy boys beside him as he read a book about parenting. Natsuki was unusually quiet as he daydreamed in the back seat, his emerald eyes drifting out the window to look at the fluffy clouds and blue sky. Masato was meditating in the back row, occasionally pulled from his thoughts by a pothole in the road. Syo was listening to music on his iPod and humming along to the Prince of Fighting theme song. Otoya was poking Tokiya from one side while Cecil pestered him from the right. Eventually Haruka pointed out a dirt road running through a meadow of pastel flowers and knee-high grasses.

"Ah," Ren said, "I remember this from the the time we came to retrieve you before our first debut."

"No fair!" Cecil whined, "I never got to see Haruka's house before!"

They soon pulled up to the house, and Ren cut the engine. Haruka's grandmother appeared in the doorway, and she moved down the steps to pull her only granddaughter into a hug.

"Oh, Haru-chan, it's so good to see you again! Your songs have been doing so well, I enjoy listening to every album!" She turned to the seven young men emerging from the car. "Thank you for taking care of my granddaughter all these years, and welcome to my home."

"It is wonderful to officially meet you," Tokiya said before bowing. "Haruka has told us many wonderful things about you."

"No need to be so formal, dear. Please, won't you come inside?"

Soon, they were seated in the living room as her grandmother served a sweet, herbal tea. No one talked, they all just listened to the soft hum of the fan whirring overhead.

"Haru-chan," her Obaa-chan began gently, "is there something you want to tell me?

"E-eh! How did you know?"

Her grandmother just smiled. "Haru-chan, I raised you, I can tell when something is bothering you."

"W-we-well y-you see, I-I-I'm, I'M PREGNANT!" she shouted as she buried her face in her hands.

The guys jumped and sweat-dropped at her outburst. Her grandmother's face was frozen in surprise.

Tokiya turned around at the sound of something hitting the ground. His curious expression became startled when he spotted a middle-aged couple and two young men standing in the doorway. The thud had come from the older man dropping his suitcase. A look of outrage was evident in his weathered features. The woman's face was frozen in a startled gasp.

"What are you looking at Toki-" Otoya began, but stopped upon seeing the couple. The older man's golden eyes were glaring at each of the men sitting on the couches.

Haruka looked up and gasped at the couple. "M-Mama? Papa?"

"Hello, Haru-chan," the pink-haired woman said softly.

**A/N: Yay! Cliff hanger! Who are the two young men? What is going to happen now? How will everyone react? Are the two men competition?**

**Stay tuned to find out. Please answer the poll that is up on my profile! Please review or comment! Thanks for reading! ~Raine**


	4. Explaining

**Raine: Konnichiwa, minna-san! Sorry for the long wait, I had a bunch of midterms to study for and take, but now I'm on break! Thank you for favoriting, following, and reviewing. It's much appreciated! Now on to the exciting stuff! Drumroll please!**

* * *

"Haruka!" her father sputtered in outrage, "which of these men did this to you?!"

"Relax, dear," her mother tried to soothe, but her own voice was shaking.

One of the two young men stepped forward, eyeing STARISH with distaste, "Haru, which of these guys touched you?" His hands curled into menacing fists as his glare attempted to intimidate the men.

"Kaito-nii, please don't hurt them!" Haruka cried as she stood up and stopped her black-haired brother from hurting STARISH.

The guys refused to let Haruka stand up for them, so the seven encircled her, protecting their princess from harm.

Tokiya leveled his lapis lazuli eyes with Kaito's icy orbs as he spoke calmly, "None of us have touched her, but all of us are taking responsibility for the babies."

Haruka's mother squealed, "BABIES?! Plural! Oh, Haru-chan, how many are there? What are you going to name them? Oh, this is so exciting!"

The guys flinched back as Haruka's mother started sparkling in exuberance. She was off in Kira-Kira-Sparkle Land at the idea of having grand-babies to spoil. Her blue eyes glazed over as she began daydreaming.

Haruka's father looked at his wife, "Minori! That isn't the issue! Someone touched my little Haru-chan! They need to pay, and take responsibility! Help me, damn it!"

Minori pouted at him, "But Shintaro-koi, Haruka doesn't look upset about this, does she? Besides, I was her age when we had Kaito." She trailed off a bit, waggling her eyebrows suggestively at her husband.

Shintaro blushed at his wife before turning to Haruka's grandmother, "Mother, please help me out here!"

She ignored her son and turned to her granddaughter. "Haru-chan, are you happy?"

Haruka nodded, linking hands with Cecil and Syo while Ren hugged her from behind.

"Haru-chan, which of these young men is the father?" her grandmother asked gently.

Haruka opened her mouth to explain, but before she could say anything, a familiar laugh echoed around everyone. The Nanami family looked around in confusion while STARISH and Haruka just sighed.

Soon enough, Shining burst into the living room in a flash of red and a puff of smoke, having never stopped laughing.

Both young men looked at him in confusion; Haruka's grandmother sighed, knowing about the mischief he causes from Haruka's letters; her parents just stared at him slack-jawed.

Haruka's mother was the first to snap out of it. "Oh my god!" she squealed. "You're Shining Saotome! I am a huge fan of yours! Your song, 'Owing it to Love', was the reason I met Shintaro. Can I get your autograph?" she asked as she bounced around the celebrity.

Haruka, Kaito, Shintaro, the other young man, and Obaa-chan sweat-dropped at Minori's behavior, while STARISH stared at the woman; wide-eyed and slack-jawed.

Shining seemed taken aback that someone had interrupted him, or could act crazier than he himself. "But of course, Mrs. Nanami," he said smoothly, handing her an autographed photo that he pulled out from his jacket pocket. "What did you mean, saying that my song is the reason you met Mr. Nanami?"

Minori got a nostalgic look in her eyes as she recounted the story. "Well, it was the day that your new CD was coming out, and I just had to have it, so I decided to go out to the shopping district, but like Haru-chan, I have a terrible sense of direction...I got terribly lost. I even got stuck on a crosswalk after the light changed. The oncoming driver wasn't paying attention, I was going to die, until a strapping young man rescued me. That was the day I met the love of my life." She turned lovey-dovey eyes to her husband. "We were married in the next month, and then Kaito was born the following year. Without your song, I never would have gone out that day, and if I hadn't gone out, I wouldn't have met my knight in shining armor."

Shining put a hand under his chin as he pondered his next course of action. "Mrs. Nanami, I have come to inform you and your family of some important information. Just before I entered, Miss Nanami was about to explain the situation, I think I may be able to help with that. You see, your future grandchildren do not have a single father, but instead, all of STARISH are the fathers."

Shintaro and Kaito had veins throbbing on their foreheads while the amber-eyed young man stared at STARISH in surprise. "And I don't suppose you had anything to do with this, right?" Shintaro managed to growl between clenched teeth.

"That is correct. I am sorry, but the whole thing is really my fault, your daughter has just been kind enough to go along with it. You see, Miss Nanami's songs when combined with STARISH's voices are magic. My song 'Owing it to Love' had just barely tapped the surface of something called the 'Happy Pulse'. When STARISH sings your daughter's songs, they are able to fully tap into this magical pulse. That is why I wanted to have the next generation of idols also be able to tap into the Happy Pulse."

"What sort of crap is this!" Kaito shouted. "You had my sister become pregnant for some sort of 'magic'? I don't believe you!" Kaito started walking up to Shining.

"Ah, please listen to one of their songs before you try to kill me."

Haruka sat at the well-loved piano and began to play her heart out. "Map of the Future" could be heard as her fingers tickled the ivories. The guys began to harmonize as her family and Shining were whisked into the world of music, surrounded by warm feelings and stars.

Shintaro looked around, and spotted Haruka smiling more beautifully than he had ever seen before. She looked so happy playing piano among the members of STARISH. He looked at the faces of the young men, their faces mirrored his when he married Minori. That look, she was their everything, the sun, moon, and stars in their sky.

When the song ended, Kaito was still glaring at STARISH and Shining, but it was half-hearted. He sighed. "Listen up, it's clear to me that you buffoons make my imoto-chan happy, but if you ever hurt her, I will kill you. Am I clear?"

Masato shook his hand, "I believe that is more than fair. Thank you for your support."

Shintaro sighed in defeat. He refused to look at STARISH. "L-listen. Take care of my little princess. I am not ready for her to leave the nest, but I trust you to take care of her," his voice trailed off and he started sobbing. He turned to his wife, "Minori, my little baby is going to have babies!" STARISH was taken aback by the sudden change in character.

Minori rubbed his back soothingly. "It's okay dear, Haru-chan is happy, and that is what matters most."

Haruka sent a grateful look to Shining before she walked over to help soothe her papa. The amber-eyed young man continued staring at Haruka. All he could think about was how beautiful she had become since he last saw her.

Haruka's mother faced her when Shintaro's sobs had started to subside. "So, Haru-chan, how many babies are you having, and how far along are you?"

Haruka smiled weakly before answering, "I am two and a half months along, and we don't know for sure how many babies there are yet, but there are at least seven."

Haruka's father heard this and began a fresh round of sobs. Minori bit her lower lip in concern, "Will you be alright Haru-chan? After all, you were very sickly as a child. Can you handle the pregnancy with that many children?"

"Let me assuage your concerns," Shining interjected, "Miss Nanami took some physical tests from my very best doctors. I have been given the all-clear. Her body will be perfectly capable of carrying the babies and she will be able to have other children later in life if she chooses to."

Minori and Obaa-chan sighed in relief. The two young men let out breaths they didn't know they had been holding.

The amber-eyed young man, who had remained mostly unnoticed throughout the discussion, suddenly walked up to Haruka, and pulled her into a tight hug. He closed his golden eyes as he buried his nose in her pink hair, inhaling the scent of raspberries. His long purple hair fanned around them at the movement.

STARISH drew in a collective gasp as the leaped to their feet.

Haruka looked at the young man, smiled, and opened her mouth, "Hello-"

* * *

**A/N: Again, I apologize for not updating sooner. My poll about the pairing has closed. The verdict? Just STARISH x Haruka. I may throw in some of the other guys flirting with her, but it is primarily STARISH. I have written half of the next chapter, so expect an update soon!**

**Reviews are appreciated. Let me know what you liked or disliked (but no flames please).**


	5. Meet Kei

**Raine: Hi guys, I felt bad leaving you hanging for so, long, so here is another new chapter! Please R&amp;R and enjoy!**

** ZeroRose90, you're right that the mystery guy's appearance was based partially off Yunoki Azuma from La Corda D'oro, but also Fujisaki Nagihiko from Shugo Chara.**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own this series.**

* * *

Haruka looked at the young man, smiled, and opened her mouth, "Hello Kei-nii." She hugged her brother back, wrapping her arms around his back, matting his long violet hair.

"Kei-nii?" Natsuki asked, his bright green eyes showed his confusion.

Syo's brows furrowed as he added, "But, he doesn't look like anyone else here."

Haruka smiled at STARISH before declaring, "He is adopted."

Obaa-chan wrung her hands and said, "It's more complicated than that, dear."

Shintaro, who had finally stopped crying, said "I think I can explain this one." He cleared his throat, straightening up to his full six feet. He looked around, as if trying to find something to help him explain, but he sighed, resigned to explain alone.

"Before I met Minori, I was in love with a woman named Sakura. When I met Sakura, Kei was just a baby. When we got married, I became Kei's father; both legally and otherwise, I had become attached to the little guy. Sakura died tragically in a car wreck on Kei's second birthday. She had been bringing Kei home from Tokyo Park, and I was going to meet them for dinner. Fifteen minutes after the time she should have been home, I began to get worried, but I didn't think much of it, she was always late. When they were an hour late,I went out driving, looking for my wife and son, but all I found was a pile of wreckage that had recently been on fire. The firefighters gave Kei to me, he had been spared of all but a nasty gash, but Sakura had taken the main hit. It was a hit and run accident, she was dead on impact." Shintaro lowered his head.

He continued on, "I raised Kei alone until I met Minori later that year, the day of the CD release. After saving her life, she wanted to have coffee with me, but I told her I needed to pick up my son from daycare, she smiled and told me that I must be great father. She loved Kei instantly, and he loved her too. It was less than a year before we married, then we had two of our own."

Ren decided to watch Kei's features throughout the story in order to judge the new man's character. Kei's amber eyes saddened at the mention of his birthmother and the car accident. He fiddled with his hair nervously, at one point, just barely revealing a puckered pink line of scar tissue that ran along his hairline on the right side of his face.

"When the kids were little," Shintaro continued, "Kei was a great onii-san. He helped take care of Haruka when she was sick. He would sit through her tea parties and read picture books to her, he even played his flute for her. Haru would become so excited," Shintaro's eyes welled with tears slightly at the happy memory, "she wanted to learn the flute too, but she got very ill before she has the chance." A bitter smile adorned Kei's face, presumably because he was thinking of when his sister became sick. "When Haruka was sent here to try and get better, Kaito cried for weeks." Kaito's cheeks turned a slight pink at his father's words. Haruka smiled at him, trying to ease the embarrassment. "To make Kaito feel better, Kei would play toy cars with him even though Kei never really liked toy cars himself."

Minori and Obaa-chan smiled peacefully, their eyes closed as they remembered the past.

Ren noticed Kei blush a little at the mention of Haruka, so he decided to further scrutinize this man.

Haruka was now sitting down with Ren to her left, so he decided to wrap his right arm around her shoulders, watching the dark flash in Kei's eyes. Feigning innocence, Ren gently placed a hand on Haruka's stomach, pretended to be surprised by something, and placed a gentle kiss on Haruka's cheek.

She turned a light pink at Ren's kiss, but Ren was focussed on the look on Kei's face. His eyes didn't show brotherly over-protectiveness, no. They showed unmistakeable jealously. He also barely held back what Ren thought would have been a territorial growl.

Ren came to the conclusion the the dude definitely had a sister complex, big time. Ren didn't know whether he should smirk in amusement, or regard the guy as a serious threat. He sighed, best not to do anything yet. They were on thin ice with the old man and the other brother already.

...xxXXxx...

After a relatively peaceful dinner where no one was killed, Obaa-chan showed everyone to their rooms. Like usual, they would be sharing. Without even speaking, the boys split off into their usual roommate pairings. Tokiya and Otoya disappeared into the first room, setting their bags beside the sleeping mats. Ren and Masato went next, into the middle room. It was a little bit tighter than the first room, but it would work just fine for the night.

The last room was the largest, but not by a lot. There were three mats laid out here, so Cecil joined Natsuki and Syo. Haruka disappeared by herself into a room across the hall from the last room. Kaito went into the room across from Ren and Masato's room, his arms crossed as he muttered to himself in what what Syo decided was German, and by the sound of it, he was cussing.

Obaa-chan and Haruka's parents went to the other side of the house to settle in for the night. Kei's room was across from Tokiya and Otoya's, but instead of retiring to bed, he disappeared outside to clear his head.

...xxXXxx...

Kei sat on the edge of the porch, resting his head on his hand, releasing and aggravated sigh. The early spring wind playfully tugged at his long hair, and nipped at his fair skin.

He had never come so close to losing his cool before. He had promised himself to never let anyone know about his feelings for Haruka, but that damn idol had known just the right way to push his buttons!

Kei knew that he should not have feelings for his sister, but a little voice in the back of his head reminded him, 'she isn't your blood sister.'

He groaned, 'Great, now I'm schizo." She may not have been related to him by blood, but he grew up with her as his sister. 'She only loves me as an older brother,' he thought dejectedly, burying his face in the crook of his right arm, letting his violet locks form a cloak around his face and body.

Then the little voice whispered, 'Does she, or is it more?'

...xxXXxx...

Haruka sat at her old desk, one hand resting on her swollen midsection while she hummed a tune and wrote the music on a previously blank sheet. Her humming was gentle and sweet, growing stronger and surer with every breath she took.

When she finished the tune, she smiled, looking down at the sheet of music that now captured her newest melody. She sighed contentedly, pulling out a picture from her white bag. It was her and her boys, gathered for a photo before one of their concerts back in september.

Suddenly, a gust of chilly March wind forced her window open, making her light green curtains flutter in the moonlight. Haruka jumped up, hurrying to close the windows as she drew her pastel blue cardigan tighter.

When the windows were finally closed, she turned to her bed, startled when she saw Kei sitting there.

"Goodness! You scared me Nii-san!" She was more surprised than annoyed, but she stopped scolding him when she noticed an unusual darkness in his golden eyes.

"Nii-san?"

"...Haruka," he said so suddenly that she jumped again.

"Yes?"

"Do I always scare you?"

"Wha-?"

He cut her off. "Does it scare you when I do this?" he asked as he jumped to his feet, coming closer slowly. "Or this?" He pushed her against a wall, covering her mouth with his hand.

Her eyes widened in shock. She stared up at her brother in confusion. What was going on?!

...xxXXxx...

Natsuki lay awake in bed. No matter how much he tried, he just couldn't seem to get comfortable without his Piyo-chan plush all around him when he slept. He dragged himself out of bed, taking one last glance at Syo and Cecil who were both sound asleep.

Maybe a glass of water or a short walk would help. As Natsuki exited the bedroom, he heard a strange noise. He listened closely. It was a muffled squeak that came again shortly, and it was coming from behind Haruka's bedroom door.

Natsuki rapped his knuckles gently on the door frame, but no further response came. He pushed the door open gently and he froze in shock at what he saw.

Haruka was pinned up against a wall, Kei was holding her arms high above her head while his mouth ravaged her soft pink lips.

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**A/N Dun, Dun, Dun! I bet you didn't see that one coming! This chapter is a little longer than usual, and I tried to add some more description. The chapter(s) with the guys' families will be much shorter and then there will be a few more surprises.**

**Thanks for reading, and please REVIEW!**


	6. Becoming Whole

**A/N: So, I left you on a cliffhanger for the previous chapter, now here is the continuation. Please R&amp;R! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Still not mine.**

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Nastuki froze in shock and horror when he caught Kei forcibly kissing Haruka. His permanent smile slowly curling turning into a dark frown. Haruka's beautiful honey colored eyes were wide open in shock as she stood helplessly with her hands pinned above her head. She was being held by one of Kei's much larger hands while the other trailed ghost-like caresses over her porcelain skin. Her small frame was just barely covered by a short babydoll nightgown that was as white as the full moon outside the window, her blue cardigan lay on the floor. She shivered, whether from cold or fear, Natsuki did not know.

Finally regaining the ability to move, Natsuki approached Kei, his cheerful green eyes growing darker, more dangerous. "Let her go," he said with forced politeness and a tight smile. Kei ignored the other man and continued to kiss his sister.

Natsuki went to place a hand on his shoulder, but Kei forcibly slapped it away, never stopping his attack on Haruka's ivory skin. Natsuki stumbled back, falling onto Haruka's soft, lavender carpet, his face now hidden by messy golden curls.

"Stay out of it, Idol-boy," Kei growled. "For twelve years I hid my feelings, but now I'm done with pretending to be a good onii-san. This is between Haruka and I."

"Oh yeah?" a new voice questioned. Kei ignored the man, not sensing the impending danger. He was too busy kissing Haruka's neck while the golden-eyed girl squirmed to notice the cracking of knuckles and a dark, almost evil chuckle.

Natsuki looked up to reveal that his glasses had fallen and Satsuki was out. "Let me show you something Lover-boy, Haruka is mine."

Satsuki growled, something low, primal, and murderous as he pulled Kei off of Haruka and punched him in the jaw. Haruka gasped as Kei stumbled back against her white bedroom wall, a little blood trailing down his chin from his newly split lip.

Kei chuckled almost as darkly before he lunged at Satsuki. Satsuki smirked, easily flipping the older man onto his back with a resounding "thud".

Haruka's knees gave way as she fell to the carpet, watching the fight with a sort of resigned horror. Then, Kei did the impossible, he landed a punch on Satsuki, but not before Satsuki had kicked him in the gut. Kei stumbled back, spitting a bit of blood, wincing slightly in pain.

Haruka had had enough! Both of these men were important to her, and she was not about to let them kill each other. Just as they began circling each other like vultures for another round, she jumped to her feet, quickly racing over to Satsuki. She wrapped her arms around his neck, standing on tiptoe. "Please stop! Please stop," she begged, her amber orbs searching his emerald ones.

Satsuki looked down at the girl he loved in confusion. "You wanted him to kiss you?" his voice held confusion. He slowly lowered his raised fists, wrapping Haruka in the safety of his arms, still sending murderous glares at Kei. Kei was doubled over, coughing blood as he gave a morose smile.

It was then that the rest of STARISH amd Haruka's family decided to poke their heads into Haruka's room, having been awakened by the noise from the fight. Ren, Tokiya, and Cecil were shirtless, showing their toned bodies, but Haruka would get to admire those later. All of their hair was ruffled and their clothes were wrinkled from sleep. Minori's hair was in a messy pink braid that looked like it had been through a hurricane and Shintaro and Kaito's spiky black hair stuck up at odd angles. Everyone standing in the doorway was extremely confused as they took in Kei's bloodied face and Satsuki with his arms wrapped around a still-shaking Haruka.

"S-Satsuki!" Syo exclaimed, worried about what the unstoppable force had done or would do.

"No!" She shook her head violently, pink stands whipping her cheeks. "I love Kei, but not the way I love you and the others. But please, he is still my brother. I don't want you guys to hurt each other." She buried her head against Satsuki's chest, gripping his green t-shirt in her fists as tears slid down her cheeks.

Kei laughed humorlessly. He had been right, she didn't love him that way. How could he be so stupid? He had really blown it, now he couldn't even show his face to Haruka. Standing with a grimace, he pushed past the crowd standing in the doorway and he walked out the front door, disappearing into the night before anyone could stop him.

He faintly heard Haruka calling his name. "Kei! Kei-nii! Please stop!" He ran faster, tears running down his face at his unbelievable stupidity. What was he thinking? Not only did she have seven of the most popular men in Japan ready to wait on her hand and foot, but she was pregnant. He had assaulted his pregnant sister. God, what kind of human did that make him? He screamed in frustration at himself.

Once he had run far enough from the house, he collapsed on a large rock in the middle of the moonlit glade, burying his face in his the crook of his arm, crying. He had really done it today. Maybe she would forgive him one day, she wasn't the type to hold grudges after all.

He groaned. He needed to fall in love with someone else. Someone preferably not in a relationship, pregnant, or related to him. He laughed slightly at his own idiocy. He would pull himself together and apologize eventually. Not today, probably not tomorrow, but definitely someday.

...xxXXxx...

Haruka ran out of the bedroom, chasing after he brother, but she was not fast enough to catch the former track runner. She cried, falling to her knees again. She really did love Kei, but she had never thought of- could never think of- him as anything but her older brother.

Otoya sat down to her right, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder as she cried with her face in her hands. Cecil sat to her left, gently rubbing her back when the sobs subsided into hiccups. Syo's warm hands brought her to her feet before Ren scooped her up in his arms, gently pressing her tiny frame against his muscular chest and carrying her back to her room. They knew just what she needed right now, and they were happy to do it.

Satsuki stood in the shadows of her bedroom as Ren lowered her to the mattress and Masato pulled the covers up to her chin. Tokiya sat by her bedside for a few minutes, soothingly rubbing her forehead and whispering sweet nothings. When the hiccups finally subsided, and Tokiya left, Satsuki stood awkwardly, looking at Haruka's tear-stained face.

He began to leave when her shaky voice stopped him. He turned to her in surprise. "Please don't leave me alone," she whispered, her voice wavering slightly. Satsuki looked around, he was going to sit on her desk chair when she gently patted the edge of her bed.

He sat down. "I'm sorry," he began awkwardly, he never did like words, but then again, he didn't usually like people either. Yet, this girl had found a way into both Natsuki's heart and his, after all, they were one and the same deep down.

"No. Don't be sorry, you saved me. I'm sorry that it had to be from my brother. I have never seen him like that. I had no idea that he might do something like that." Her voice started to shake again like she was going to cry.

Satsuki panicked. What did one do with a crying girl? Luckily for him, she did not cry again, but he took her tiny hand in his larger one anyway. Her hand was small like a child's, but thin like a lady's and surprisingly soft for that of a pianist.

"Haruka," his voice was unusaully gentle as he spoke to her. "Promise me that you will watch over Natsuki for me. I have a feeling he won't be needing me as much soon."

Haruka gasped. "Satsuki, you are not a crutch for Natsuki anymore, you are a part of him, a facet of his personality, and I love you and him both. Please don't talk like a man on his deathbed!" She was sitting up now, leaning against the headboard, her legs tangled in the light green sheets. Her hair was a little messy, but Satsuki loved it anyway.

She stared deep into his emerald orbs, searching for anything other than resignation. She grabbed his other hand, surprising him by pulling him into a tight hug. Satsuki froze in surprise at first, but his cold features quickly warmed. He could feel her gently swollen abdomen through the cotton fabric of her dress. She took his face in her hands. "Promise me that you won't disappear. Natsuki is stronger now, but both of you are my knights in shining armor. Whether it be Piyo-chan armor or otherwise. I don't want to lose anyone else tonight."

He looked into her honeycomb eyes, feeling guilty. He looked down with her hands still on his cheeks. She suddenly brought his face up and kissed him on the lips. He nearly jumped, extremely startled by her actions. She started to pull back, as if surprised by her own actions, but Satsuki put a hand behind her head and crashed his lips against hers once more.

"I love you, Nanami Haruka," two voices mumbled against her lips. Suddenly, he was surrounded by a golden light as his two personalities merged back into one. After years of despair and heartbreak caused by that woman, Natsuki had fallen in love again, and Satsuki fell for Haruka too. The two broken halves of his soul became one as he looked at Haruka passionately.

"Thank you for accepting all of me. Thank you for making me whole again," he whispered lovingly, crying in relief. He had finally been freed from his curse and his pain. Natsuki looked at her with new eyes, eyes that showed his adoration and his passion simultaneously. "We- I love you, Haru-chan."

Haruka pulled him into another hug and he kissed her once more, grateful to his little fairy, his Haru-chan.

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**A/N: Satsuki is not gone. He and Natsuki became one person like they used to be before the incident in his childhood. Now Natsuki and Satsuki are one, but Nacchan will still have kawaii moments and Satsuki-like traits will surface from time to time so he can act a little bipolar. This chapter was mostly Natsuki/Satsuki x Haruka**

**So thanks for reading. Please fave, follow, and review! Let me know what you thought of the chapter, things you liked, things you didn't (critiques are welcome, flames are not).**

**Next chapter will deal with some of the guys telling their families. There will be moments and chapters between Haru and each of the guys.**


	7. Down Time

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! It makes me happy to know that you guys are enjoying the story. Now, on to the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Do I really have to say this every time? I (sadly) don't own this series or any others at this moment in time.**

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It had been two months since they left Haruka's house. The morning after Kei left had been awkward, spent in almost absolute silence from the time everyone awoke until they got back to the Master Course dorms. Once they were home, everyone had disappeared into their rooms, lost to their thoughts.

After another day had been spent with everyone not knowing how to feel or what to think, Reiji had decided to cheer everyone up. He dragged his kouhais to the park, and by making some blatant passes at Haruka, he had gotten the guys fired up and Haruka blushing pinker than her hair. The guys were just about ready to kill him when he revealed his intention all along was to get them back to acting like themselves.

After he helped, things got back to being relatively normal in the Master Course, well, as normal as things get for these seven world-famous idols and their composer. The guys immersed themselves in work and taking care of Haruka's newfound cravings.

Tokiya couldn't understand it. Most women wanted sugar or meat, but Haruka was craving weird things like pasta primavera or a hamburger, basically anything that was hard to find in Japan. But the guys helped regardless. Ren would cook for her when he could, and Tokiya would take care of her cravings otherwise. This often entailed many late night or early morning trips to the convenience store in disguise.

Cecil spent his days telling her belly the stories of the great kings of Agnapolis and the battles they fought. He told them like bedtime stories, and Haruka would find herself immersed in them as well, her honey colored eyes widening as his words enthralled her. His teal eyes would sparkle and his hands gesticulated despite the audience not being able to see them. One day, a letter had come in the mail for him, but he had tossed it to the side without opening the royal seal. He wasn't ready to deal with his parents yet.

Otoya would play guitar and sing to the babies; he said that he wanted to make sure they would love music as much as their parents. Masato was still having trouble loosening up around Haruka, sometimes his blushes put hers to shame. However, one night he finally, truly, mastered the art of embracing. Let's just say that the others were impressed, and some sake was passed around in celebration.

Now that two months had passed, the incident with Kei was mostly forgotten by the guys, and Haruka had already forgiven him in her heart; she would just have to tell him that in person next time she saw him.

Syo had landed another acting job with Hyuuga-sensei, so he was gone more often than the others. He felt guilty not being there to take care of Haruka, but at night, he would curl up with his head on her lap and she would encourage him to keep working toward his dream as her fingers played with his soft, blonde locks.

The guys had written the lyrics to the new song she had composed while at her childhood home. It was called "Dream of the Shining Future", and it was dedicated to their babies. Shining decided that they would debut the song once the babies had been born by holding another concert.

For the first time since they returned from the trip to Haruka's, all of STARISH was gathered with Haruka in the living room. Her belly was quickly growing larger, but that was to be expected since they were going to be having at least seven babies. Now that she was five months in, her stomach was the size of a beach ball. She had started to feel self-conscious, but her lovers were always there to remind her how beautiful she was in their eyes, but the June heat did nothing to ease her discomfort, so she spent most her time inside now, enjoying the cool air.

They were sprawled out around the living room, chatting about work and the babies. Syo's movie shoot was finally over, and he was excited to spend more time with Haruka. Suddenly, Haruka's stomach started to growl, making the boys laugh and Haruka blush in embarrassment. "So, Lady, what would you like for lunch today?" Ren inquired with a laugh.

Haruka thought for a minute before her face lit up. "I would like to have pizza today, if you would."

"Of course, my lady," Ren said with a flourish that made his dark, golden locks form a curtain around his face briefly before he disappeared into the kitchen.

Otoya rubbed Haruka's stomach gently while Cecil recounted the tale of King Amir of Agnapolis. Meanwhile, Syo and Masato were reading the newspaper headlines over Tokiya's shoulder.

The headlines screamed, "STARISH ON BREAK?!" in massive letters. Underneath was a short blurb, "The hot group seems to be taking some down time, and the world wants to know: Where is their composer?" The article went on to talk about how Haruka had not been seen in public since she was hospitalized three months ago at their last concert. The journalists were theorizing that something had happened to her and that was why the group had not held any concerts since, or that something bigger was going on. Tokiya's brows furrowed as he read. This was not good, suspicion was already causing questions to be asked, questions that were expected after the babies were born, or if Haruka were recognized in public.

Bright emerald eyes scanned the living room. With QUARTET NIGHT being busy today, and the rest of STARISH being occupied, Natsuki was a bit bored, so he stood. "I'm going to help Ren in the kitchen!" he announced excitedly. He hadn't cooked anything for Haruka and the babies yet, so he wanted to feed them the best possible homemade food.

But instead, everyone looked up and simultaneously shouted,"NO!"

He looked down at his friends and lover in confusion, green eyes widening innocently. "Why not? I wanted to try out my new Piyo-chan spatula." Sure enough, he held up a pink spatula with Piyo-chan figure on the top of the handle.

"That's alright Nacchan," Otoya started. "I'm sure Ren has it covered, besides, why don't you show Haruka the scene you have been working on for that theater job you landed?"

Natsuki's eyes lit up. "Of course!" He spent the next half hour acting. He had landed the role after he had become whole again. It was more serious than anything Natsuki had done before, even more than the gravure shoot a couple years ago. In this play, he was the orphaned apprentice to a master sword-smith for the emperor. The city was on the brink of war, and Nishimura (his character) was being pushed to the limits as the army demanded more weapons than the sword-smiths could provide. After mercenaries from the foreign army attacked his master, killing him and leaving Nishimura seriously injured, he vowed vengeance against the assailants, joining the army front lines until he could take revenge on those who wronged him.

As Natsuki acted, more of Satsuki came out. His eyes lost their gentle radiance, becoming hard as steel. He played the character perfectly; a man who was once kind, turned to stone by the cost of war. Haruka was moved to tears when he acted out the last scene before taking a deep bow.

They heard clapping behind them as Ren emerged from the kitchen, wiping his hands on a burgundy towel that he threw over his shoulder. "Lunch is served," he announced.

Haruka tore into the cheesy pizza, savoring the masterful way Ren had combined the flavors into one. The guys watched her with wide smiles, enjoying their pizza as well.

Cecil had poked it at first, not knowing what to make of the foreign food, but when he saw how much Haruka was enjoying it, he took a tentative bite, his eyes lighting up as the swirl of flavors hit his tongue. "This must be the food of the Muses! It is godly!" Cecil bowed to the slice of pizza on his plate, making Haruka and the others burst out laughing. Cecil looked at his princess and companions in confusion. "Is this not the food of the Muses?" Haruka just laughed harder. Every time Cecil opened his mouth to say something, she lost herself in another fit of laughter.

When she finally stopped giggling, she rubbed tears of laughter out of her eyes. "Gomen, Cecil, but I have never heard pizza described that way before. It isn't a Japanese dish, I think it is a more western food, farther west than Agnapolis."

Cecil looked embarrassed as he continued nibbling on his slice of pizza. Even Tokiya had laughed at him, so he must have done something very silly by Japanese standards.

Soon Cecil was pulled from his mortification as Shining's laughter echoed around the spacious room. They didn't react this time, they just sat waiting for him to show himself. When he appeared out of thin air, ready to take a bow, the boys and Haru didn't react, they just kept eating their pizza and doing other things.

He looked down at them in confusion. Damn, he needed to get more creative, they weren't surprised anymore! Putting that aside, Shining lowered his arms back to his sides and cleared his throat. "Big, big news!" he announced in his usual booming voice.

He finally got everyone's attention. Tokiya even closed his new book on parenting with a reluctant sigh. "Yesterday, your mansion was finished being constructed! As I speak, movers are gathering your belongings and escorting them to your new place of residence. It will be done being painted and decorated in two weeks time." He paused, "So, I am sending you on vacation for the time being. You will be staying at my private villa in Fiji. There is a bus waiting outside to take you to my private jet. Anything you may need is waiting for you at the villa already." He gave a flourish that read, 'You may clap now.'

"Fiji! Sweet!" Otoya cheered. His ruby eyes grew as wide as saucers in excitement. Cecil was excited for a vacation, not realizing the close proximity that it would put him to water and fish.

"Oh, but first, you will be stopping by the obstetrician's office for a check-up, Miss Nanami. Please enjoy your vacation." Shining then vanished behind a trap door in the wall.

"Did you know about that secret passage?" Syo asked Natsuki. The older blonde just shrugged his broad shoulders in response.

Once everyone was finished eating, they put the dishes in the dishwasher and headed outside to see a luxurious black bus waiting for them. Hyuuga and Ringo sat in the front seats. Hyuuga had his arms crossed over his chest. Cecil was going to ask if they were going to Fiji as well, but Ringo held up a perfectly manicured hand to stop them from saying anything. "Don't worry, we're only escorting you to the airport. You will be alone with Haru-chan on the way to the villa."

Most of the guys blushed at the thought of being unattended with Haruka. They clambered onto the bus, Haruka sat near the front with Cecil sitting to her right, next to the aisle. During the half hour drive to the doctor's office, Haruka fell asleep, her head resting on Cecil's shoulder, his chestnut brown hair tickling her ivory cheek. When they pulled up to a gray concrete and glass structure with a medical office sign planted in the perfectly trimmed grass, the bus stopped, Haruka woke up, and everyone piled out, except Hyuuga.

Once inside the building, they sat in a sterile, white waiting room for not even a minute before the nine of them were ushered into a private room. A small, middle-aged woman with smile lines creasing her face soon joined them. "Hello, minna-san, I will be your doctor for the duration of the pregnancy. My name is Dr. Hihara. Today, Miss Nanami had been scheduled for an ultrasound. Now that you are five months along, we can get a definite count on the babies, and we can also tell genders. Would you like to know the genders?"

The guys looked at Haruka questioningly. Haruka looked at their faces, "I would like it to be a surprise, but you guys are welcome to know."

"No, I'll wait, if you want, Haru-chan," Otoya declared. Cecil and Natsuki nodded. Masato and Syo looked a little disappointed, but they nodded in agreement anyway.

Ren said, "I admit, I am a little curious, but I will always wait for you, Lady."

Tokiya faced the doctor, "For now, just the number will suffice, thank you."

Dr. Hihara nodded kindly. She lifted Haruka's cream colored shirt to reveal her very large midsection. The doctor chuckled slightly when Haruka squeaked at the cold of the ultrasound gel.

"Let's see what we have here," she trailed off, moving the device around as she squinted at a monitor. Her face broke into a kind smile as she announced, "Congratulations, it looks like you will be having-."

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**A/N: Hooray for cliffhangers! They make things more fun. Thanks for reading! Please review, favorite and follow! Ok, I got ahead of myself when I said the guys' families would be in this chapter. They will come soon enough, I promise! Sorry if you were hoping for that, but I wanted a chapter or two of fluff after the Kei bombshell and the little one I am dropping soon.**


	8. Planes and Paternal Wonder

**A/N: So now you get to find out the official number of babies. Get ready! Please read, review, fave, and follow! Thanks for all the support, my wonderful followers and reviewers!**

**Disclaimer: I now own Utapri all days of the week that don't end in the letter y. Hey! Wait a second, all of them end in y!**

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"Let's see what we have here," she trailed off, moving the device around as she squinted at the monitor. Her face broke into a kind smile as she announced, "Congratulations, it looks like you will be having ten very healthy babies."

Haruka's golden eyes widened, her hands flying to her abdomen. "T-ten?" she stuttered. "I thought it was just going to be the seven. Ten?!"

Otoya and Cecil looked dumbstruck. Ren was at a loss for words for once, his mouth opening and closing, but no sound coming out. Natsuki looked surprised, but rather happy. Syo's cerulean eyes were wide in shock as he froze like the Tinman without oil. Masato simply tried to rationalize the new situation, "But if there are ten, that only increases the chances that we each have at least one child with her."

Tokiya nodded, looking thoughtful. He glanced down at Haruka's worried face, and his cold features melted into a smile. "May we see the screen, please?"

Dr. Hihara nodded at his request, turning the monitor for the family to see. "Sugoi!" Otoya cheered,"Look at how big they are getting! Arigato, Haru-chan!"

Masato looked at the screen, pleased by the progressive growth of the babies, and awed by the image on the screen before him. The screen was black and white, and it looked very crowded in her womb, but the guys smiled nevertheless. Ren looked closely at the little hands and feet, feeling himself becoming proud to be a future father.

Tokiya turned to the doctor once more. "Sensei, may we get some printed sonogram pictures?" The doctor smiled at Tokiya, nodding once more, she continued showing them the babies for another couple minutes before printing out several dozen copies.

Syo looked at all of the pictures. "Um, why did you print out so many? There are only eight of us," he questioned.

Dr. Hihara smiled before cryptically saying, "You'll understand soon enough. Take these with you on your trip to Fiji, and take good care of this young lady."

In less than and hour, the gang was sitting aboard Shining's luxurious private jet as Ringo waved goodbye to them, tears in his eyes, waving a handkerchief like the damsels in movies.

Haruka settled herself on one of the plush suede seats near the front, sinking into the soft cushioning. She could have fallen asleep right then, if it were not for Ren sitting down across from her.

"It's going to be a long flight, Little Lamb. If you want, we can make good use of the separate cabins. After all, I've always wanted to join the Mile High Club."

She couldn't see his facial expression very well, since he was backlit by the soft, golden glow of the reading lamp, but she could hear the smirk in his voice. "E-eh. W-well, maybe some day," she managed to splutter.

He chuckled at her dark blush. "You don't have to if you don't want to, but the offer stands." With that, Ren got up and sauntered over to pester poor Masato who was reading a book Tokiya had lent him.

Soon enough, they heard the pilot say, "We will be taking off shortly, please take your seats now. Our destination is sunny Fiji. Sit back and enjoy the flight, it's going to be a good ten hours."

Haruka looked at her lovers. Cecil had taken the seat Ren vacated, and beside him sat Otoya. Tokiya had settled in to the right of Haruka, his head leaning on the window. Across the aisle, Ren was sitting next to Masato while they discussed a business convention that was coming up shortly. Syo was next to the opposite window, his eyes glued to the screen of his tablet as he read the script for his next movie. Beside him, Natsuki was knitting intricate and beautiful little sweaters in a myriad of pastel colors.

As she looked over Tokiya's shoulder at the puffy white clouds, her thoughts drifted to fluffy sheep, and soon enough, she was asleep on his shoulder. Tokiya looked down at Haruka affectionately. He trailed his left hand gently down her cheek. Her beautiful pink hair tumbled down around her shoulders in a cascade of silk.

Eventually, Tokiya was also lulled into a state of torpid serenity, his long, blue eyelashes sweeping down as his sapphire eyes closed. When his breathing was even, and he was as deeply asleep as Haruka, his head rested atop hers, blue and pink mixing as the couple slept.

Cecil and Otoya had fallen asleep in the reclining seats. Their bodies were a tangle of limbs as both boys sprawled out all over the place. Natsuki had finished two little sweaters before he too had fallen asleep from boredom. Masato was still silently reading his borrowed book and Syo was still reading over his new script.

Ren would never admit it to a living soul, but he loathed airplanes. His mother, Renge, had died in a plane crash when he was a small child, and ever since, Ren had been uneasy in the air. Now when the plane hit a patch of turbulence, Ren's heart skipped a beat. It took all of his dignity to suppress a cry of fear and surprise that bubbled up in his throat.

Deciding it better to be embarrassed in private, Ren stood abruptly and walked to one of the back cabins of the plane. Once there, he curled up on the small bed that was attached to the wall. God forbid anyone should find him in such a position of helplessness.

After a particularly rough patch of air, Ren was practically shaking. Suddenly, his head jolted up when he heard the curtain that separated the cabins being moved. Standing there, lit from behind as though she was an angel, was Haruka. She looked at him shyly.

He stared up at her in surprise, too scared to use one of his usual pick-up lines. "What are you doing back here, Lady?" he willed his voice not to quaver, but it did anyway. Haruka pretended not to notice as she drew closer to him.

"I woke up when we hit the turbulence, and I noticed you weren't in the main cabin."

Not wanting to appear weak, Ren mustered up some of his usual bravado. "So you came looking for me? Did you decide to join the Mile High Club after all?"

Haruka smiled at him gently before saying, "I just wanted to make sure you were alright." She sat down on the edge of the bed, tilting her head to the side slightly as she scanned his face.

"Honestly, I am not alright." Ren had no idea what drove him to admit that, but he was glad that he did. "I actually hate planes. My mother died in a plane crash when I was six."

Haruka took his shaking hand between her soft palms. "It's alright to be afraid sometimes. I don't expect you to always be strong, everyone has something that they don't feel comfortable talking about."

"Thank you, Little Lamb," he chuckled in self-pity at the end of the sentence. "I wanted to be the strong one, the untouchable one, but it looks like you have discovered my weakness."

"Being strong often means admitting that you aren't perfect. I love you no matter what, R-Ren." She blushed and stuttered when he pulled her into his arms, holding her close to his chest.

After a minute, pulled her onto his lap, hugging her tightly from behind as he buried his face in her hair. He inhaled the sweet fragrance of raspberries. She blushed again, but rather than moving away, she gently placed her hand atop his as they rested on her stomach.

They sat that way for a while until they were jolted from their peace by a sudden movement. This time, it didn't come from the plane, it came from the babies kicking. Ren looked at Haruka in surprise. His hands trailed over her abdomen as he felt the babies stir.

Haruka giggled sweetly as he wore an astonished look. "Lady! This is amazing." His hands continued roaming her stomach gently. With each successive kick, his fear diminished and his grin grew wider. "Is this the first time they have kicked?"

Haruka smiled. "It's not the first time really, but it is certainly the most active they have been so far. You see, they're telling their Papa that it's going to be okay. Isn't that right guys?" Haruka asked her stomach. In response, they got another kick that made both parents laugh.

They stayed like that for a while until both fell asleep. Haruka was still sitting in Ren's arms when Masato came in to tell them they were landing soon. He had gently shaken Ren's shoulder and then left so Ren could wake Haruka himself.

By the time they finally touched down on the landing strip leading to Shining's villa, Syo had read through his script and Natsuki had knitted five more sweaters. Just next to the plane, a black limousine waited to chauffeur them the half mile to the villa.

The impressive building loomed in the distance. It's cream-colored walls rose up out of the island like a giant fortress. After they had been shuttled up to the front driveway, Cecil helped Haruka out of the car and up the steps with the others following behind.

Waiting by the front door was none other than Shining accompanied by Ringo, Hyuuga, and QUARTET NIGHT.

"Oi! What are you guys doing here? I thought that you said we would be alone with Haruka. And how did you get here before us?" Syo asked Ringo pointedly.

Shining began by saying, "We only just arrived ourselves. Don't worry, we are only here for a week. But before all of that, I have a surprise for you."

"How we got here is not important. And I actually only said you would be alone with her on the way down to Fiji. But since everyone is here now, let's head inside, shall we?" Ringo waved his hand nonchalantly. His face was mostly hidden by a large, floppy hat with a cerulean bow that matched his summer dress and complemented his eyes.

The STARISH guys looked a bit disappointed, but they still entered the building behind Shining and the others.

The entryway was a massive two-story room with a floor of speckled marble in various off-white tones. Above, a large crystal chandelier acted as the focal point of the room and deep velvety-red walls rose high above their heads. Otoya craned his neck as he looked up at the steeped ceiling that was covered in impressive white moldings that displayed various musical symbols and scenes. Treble clefs formed flowers while half-notes became the figures of musicians. Instruments could be seen if one carefully analyzed the formation of whole notes.

Otoya was jolted from his amazement by the sound of Shining clearing his throat uncomfortably. The massive man had his back turned to the group that trailed behind him."Before we move into the next room, I have something I would like to admit," Shining stated, turning around to face Haruka and STARISH.

He motioned the others to continue on ahead before he slowly removed his ever-present sunglasses. Behind the shades were strikingly familiar eyes. They were same deep red eyes as Otoya's. "When I was younger, I had a son with my composer. After she died in a plane crash when he was a baby, I went into a spiral of depression. That was the end of my singing career, but also my fathering career." Shining looked down, ashamed of himself before he continued on, "I put my son in an orphanage because I thought that I could not be a parent alone. I kept an eye on him always, contributing to the orphanage and made sure he was taken care of, but I never approached my son. He grew up, sadly, as an orphan because I stupidly chose to abandon him in my grief, and I thought he would hate me if I went to him later."

Here he looked up at the group briefly. Most of the guys looked lost, but Haruka, Cecil, Tokiya, and Otoya looked like they had an idea of where this was going. Otoya looked at Shining, the mirrored vermillion orbs communicating silently.

"Mister Ittoki is actually my son and heir." Shining looked at his son, continuing to explain, "Your surname is your mother's. She was quite a woman. Very headstrong, but so kind. I wish she could be here with us now. I am so sorry for not raising you, for letting my grief cloud my judgement, and for leaving you as an orphan. I don't expect you to forgive me, but I just thought you should know. You are not alone, you never have been."

When Shining finished his confession, he suddenly seemed to have found something very interesting in the specks of marble on the floor. His scarlet eyes were glued to the little spots as he refused to meet Otoya's gaze.

Otoya, for his part, was processing the information rather well. He looked at the older man whose shoulders were curved downward, as if in a frown, and his eyes softened further at the sight of his father. "It's alright. I forgive you. I understand what you did now, and I'm glad to know that I have a living parent. Now at least I know that my parents didn't give me up because they didn't love me. I'm just happy to have a family." Otoya walked over to Shining, pulling his father into a tight hug. "I-it's nice to meet you, Dad."

Shining looked very relieved and happy as he pulled his son in for a tighter hug. "I'm so sorry I ever let you go. I missed out on so much and I wasn't there for you. I should have been a better father, but I am never letting go again," he whispered in an uncharacteristically soft voice.

"But you're here now and that's all that matters." The rest of STARISH looked at the reunited family happily. Ren's lips twisted in a slightly bitter smile since his own parents were long gone.

When the father and son finally separated, Shining began to lead the way to the rest of the house. Once again, his reflective white sunglasses hid his expression, but the arm around Otoya's shoulders was enough to tell them that the secretive man had not completely walled himself off again.

Once the group had finally passed through the foyer and into the main area of the house, Natsuki noted the impressive double staircases that curled around the outer edges of the new room. To the left was a massive kitchen that extended straight down as far as Ren could see. Ahead of them, Tokiya filed away in his memory the enormous library that piqued his interest. To the right was a massive sitting room full of couches, but it wasn't the silk curtains that framed the bay windows, nor the plush leather couches that claimed their attention. It was not even the twelve-foot wide flat-screen that caught their attention. No, it was the two dozen or so people that occupied the couches that made STARISH freeze in the carved oak doorway, and one particular woman caught Shining off guard.

The woman was beautiful with rich auburn red hair and striking teal green eyes. Her skin was a light tan that glowed like the sun, and a smile graced her noble features. All of the above would make her attractive, but Shining just stared at her in shock. His mouth opened and closed like a fish without water as he looked at her fair features.

Cecil flashed a broad grin as he embraced the woman. "Hi, Mom."

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**A/N: Those of you who have played the games probably know what is happening next. Please note that I haven't played the games, but I did some research on them. Thanks for reading and please remember to REVIEW! Thanks guys!**


	9. Surprise?

**A/N: Another new chapter. I think this is the most chapters I have ever written for a story before. Please R&amp;R. Thanks to all my followers and reviewers. Sorry for the wait, but standardized testing takes time out people's lives...**

**Disclaimer:( Not mine.**

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When the beautiful woman spotted Shining, a flicker of recognition flashed in her startled eyes. One dainty hand raised to her mouth as she gasped, her pink lips forming an 'o'. The shorter, but older, man beside her looked at Shining as well, his deep chocolate brown eyes taking in the equally imposing man that currently occupied his wife's attention.

"Mitsuo?" the woman asked. Her voice was silky and soft as she addressed Shining over her son's shoulder. Her teal silk gown made a light swishing sound as she disengaged from her son and approached the familiar producer.

Shining continued gaping before he could form words. "B-but, you're dead. You died, I saw the plane crash! You can't be alive, Kotomi." His booming voice broke on the last word as Shining fell to his knees on the hard marble floor, not sure what to think anymore.

Kotomi shook her head slowly. "No- I'm alive. Twenty-two years ago, I woke up in a desert, surrounded by wreckage with no memory of who I was. The only reason I even knew my own name was the travel badge pinned to my jacket. I wandered through that desert until I stumbled across a gleaming city. The music drifting across the scorching sands had brought me to a beautiful land that worshipped the Muses, I found Agnapolis. Once there, I met and fell in love with a wonderful man who turned out to be the king, my beloved Sohrab. I have had amnesia about my past for over twenty years, and now, seeing you, it's coming back, in bits and pieces."

"Do you really remember me?" Shining asked slowly. His voice quavered as if he was hoping against hope.

Kotomi nodded this time, her auburn waves bouncing on her slim shoulders."I do now. Oh, Mitsuo, where is our son?" Sohrab's chocolate eyes widened as he learned more about his wife's missing past. Cecil looked at his mother in surprise, getting presentiment about what was about to occur.

"Right here," Shining said softly as he put his arm around Otoya's shoulders, confirming Cecil's guess.

Otoya's eyes widened like saucers and he clutched Haruka's hand for support. The shell-shocked red head gaped as the news sank in. "HUH?! After wishing and wondering for years, I never imagined meeting my parents this way. First I found out I was going to be a father, and now I find out that I'm not an orphan at all!" Ruby eyes flickered back and forth between the two adults before going blank. Otoya suddenly swayed on his feet passing out from shock. He started to fall backwards onto Tokiya, but the blunette caught him by the shoulders, slowly lowering his limp form to the dark emerald carpet.

Kotomi gasped when he started falling and then sent a puzzled look at Shining after she made sure her older son was taken care of. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could form words, someone else started talking.

Syo piped up, "But doesn't that make Otoya and Cecil half-brothers?"

"Very good, Shorty," Ren added, ruffling Syo's hair in a condescending manner.

"I already knew that," Tokiya interjected abruptly. "The two of them are a lot alike and their facial structure is nearly identical. I did some research about the president's music career when I was deciding to attend Saotome Gakuen, and I came across a woman named Ittoki Kotomi. When I was determining whether or not to accept Cecil as part of the Master Course, I researched his home country. Imagine my surprise when I found out the queen, Aijima Kotomi, was the same woman. After some more cross-referencing, I had confirmed it."

Everyone stared at him in shock. "Well, you always were good at getting facts," Ren agreed. His voice showed his slight awe at the bluenette's analytical prowess.

"But, why didn't you tell us?" Cecil asked in confusion.

Tokiya looked uncomfortable at the question. "I was going to, but when Ringo realized what I knew, he told me that I should let the family find out on their own because more was involved than I realized. When the topic never came around again, I had mostly forgotten." He rubbed the back of his his, as if ashamed and slightly embarrassed.

Attention now turned to Ringo who was admiring his candy-apple red nails when he felt many eyes staring at him. He chuckled nervously. "Don't be mad, Shining-san needed to figure this out on his own and with good time."

Shining looked like he was going to say something when Cecil began talking again.

"I have a brother," Cecil trailed off, looking at his older brother who's eyes were just beginning to flutter open. The younger man looked as happy as he had when he joined STARISH.

Kotomi looked at her passed out son. "Didn't he say that he is going to be a father?"

"Yes," Shining stated slowly, not caring to elaborate yet. The plan of forcing STARISH to tell their parents had backfired when he had not paid closer attention to the king and queen of Agnapolis. He had met Sohrab before on many occasions throughout the years, but he had never seen the queen before, he hadn't even been expecting her to be here today. Now, he had met the queen, and she was also the love of his life, now married to his foreign friend.

Otoya jolted upright suddenly, only to stare at Cecil, as if really seeing the teal eyed prince for the first time. Cecil didn't give him long to stare though, he immediately tackled Otoya in a bear hug. "This is so cool! I always wanted a brother!"

Otoya returned the hug weakly, still adjusting to the idea of having a family outside of the orphanage. Just wait until he tells the principal of the orphanage!

Cecil was helping his brother to his feet when a woman in her mid-twenties suddenly appeared in front of Cecil and Otoya. She had long, wavy black hair that bounced around her hips and deep almost black eyes that pierced the prince's soul and simultaneously complemented her mocha complexion.

"Ah! Miki, you're here too," Cecil tried to sound excited, but he quickly became quiet when she stared at him.

"Who is she?" Masato asked Cecil.

"She's my older sister," Cecil managed to squeak under her gaze. He grabbed Haruka's hand for support.

Miki interjected sharply, "Half-sister. I'm the bastard daughter of the king." The guys looked surprised at her coarse language.

Sohrab blushed, as if in shame. Kotomi gave his hand a gentle squeeze as the foreign king began enunciating, "Miki was the result of my indiscrete past. Her mother passed when she was young, so I have been providing for her."

"Who knew parents were supposed to do that?" Miki said with biting sarcasm.

Sohrab sent her a deadly look and she silenced. "Since her mother was a courtesan, she has no stake to the throne. My son is my only heir."

"You could just say my mother was a prostitute and since they aren't legal, neither am I," she rolled her eyes, muttering something about Sohrab and diplomats.

The air grew thick with the tension between the family. Haruka looked at Cecil's tired face now. He looked a bit like a puppy with its tail between its legs. "I don't want the throne," he mumbled with clenched fists.

"You will take the throne. You have no choice in the matter," Sohrab declared.

Cecil stared straight into his father's eyes. "What about my life in Japan? I have friends! I have been able to sing the songs of the Muses! I have a wonderful woman by my side whom I love more than anything in the world, and she has made me a father." Cecil gestured to Haruka as he ranted.

Sohrab looked at the pink-haired girl for the first time. "She carries a royal child?" His voice held intrigue as he judged the composer with calculating eyes.

Cecil froze. "No, don't even think about it."

"If she carries a child of royal blood, then the child must be born in Agnapolis. How far along are you, my dear? Seven months? Eight?"

Haruka blushed under the King's intense gaze.

"Hold on just a minute," Otoya began.

"Baba (A/N: Dad), stop it!" Cecil pleaded.

Tokiya suddenly stood protectively in front of Haruka. "She as also carrying my child."

Ren joined Tokiya, flashing his Colgate-white teeth. "Mine as well."

"Me too," Otoya declaimed.

Syo joined his bandmates. "Same here."

"I have been blessed as well," Natsuki added with a wide grin.

"WHAT!" For the first time, the people who had been sitting quietly on the couches made their presence known.

While Sohrab took in the sight of seven young men declaring themselves to be the fathers of one woman's children, Kotomi turned an accusatory glare at her former lover before her eyes darted back to her two sons and Haruka. Miki seemed to have snapped out of her sulking temporarily to gape at the eight people with a very unladylike open mouth.

Since Shining was the only parent besides Haruka's who knew about the pregnancy, most of the guys paled when they turned to face their respective families and explain the statement they had just made.

Ren's two older brothers had been sitting with perfect posture in their pressed blue business suits until they jumped up demanding an explanation for their younger brother's announcement.

A woman with deep lapis lazuli eyes and dark blonde waves jumped to her feet beside a man with kind hazel eyes and spiky, dark blue hair. Tokiya looked at the woman with an even, almost cold gaze, as if daring his mother to say something while his father smiled apologetically, rubbing he back of his head and chuckling nervously.

Another woman with short, curly blonde hair had engulfed her son in a hug, her emerald eyes taking in Haruka's figure over Natsuki's shoulder. "Na-chan, Mama is so happy for you!" She squeezed him tighter, and Otoya now understood where Natsuki got his personality.

Syo's parents and his brother had engulfed him in a tight hug. "Good going, Bro! She's a pretty one!" Kaoru cheered, ruffling his older brother's hair.

Masato's little sister, Mai, had managed a half-hearted congratulations despite their father's disapproving glare. Masato then faced his father with steely eyes, waiting for a punishment.

When Haruka scanned the faces of the crowd, she gasped when she spotted her own family. In particular, when her golden gaze landed on a familiar waterfall of purple hair and a tumble of ruby waves. Sitting there with her family was not just Kei, but Tomo-chan as well. Kei sat with his arm wrapped around her former roommate's shoulders, whispering sweet words in her ear, that made the singer blush.

Kei looked up at his sister and smiled gently. Haruka slowly made her way between the crowds of families to her brother. "Onii-chan, let's start over, ne?" she offered, letting him know he was forgiven. Kei started to cry as he pulled his sister into a hug.

"I'm so sorry, Haru-chan. For everything."

"It's okay now, you have Tomo-chan now. Tomo-chan is the most wonderful person. She is my best friend, so treat her well, okay?" She smiled at her older brother before turning to Tomochika. "Can you look after my brother for me? It's his turn to be loved by someone, and there is no one I would rather trust him with."

Tomo-chan laughed, "With a body like his, you don't have to worry, I'll keep my eyes on him forever."

Kei looked at his girlfriend with a fake pout. "What about my glorious personality?"

The red-head put her fist under her chin as she pretended to debate the question and draw out Kei's torture. "Hmmm, I suppose your personality can be pretty charming." She kissed him on the cheek and Haruka giggled at the couple's antics.

Suddenly, Haruka's head whipped around as she heard Kotomi screech, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU WANTED A NEW GENERATION OF IDOLS!?"

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**A/N: Okay, so a bit of a weak ending, but I just had to update. Again, I'm sorry for the wait, but my teachers are piling on the test prep for FCATs and EOCs...If anyone can guess correctly where I got Sohrab's name from, they get to ****_name Ren's second older brothe_****r. If no one guesses by the time I post the nest chapter, his name is just going to be Kenji. Also, if anyone would like to venture a guess about where I got the names of Tokiya's parents, they get to name one of his kids in a later chapter. **

**Thanks for reading. Please review!**


	10. Time for Family

**A/N: Sorry for the delay again, I have been slammed by ongoing projects and work from my core classes. Things will calm down after this week and then I can update more regularly.**

**In the last chapter, I asked you to guess where the names of Tokiya's parents come from, I forgot to mention that it's for this chapter, not last chapter since I didn't mention their names. **

**Thanks for reviewing, following, favoriting, etc.!**

**Disclaimer: Do I really have to say it? Utapri= Not mine.**

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Suddenly, Haruka's head whipped around as she heard Kotomi screech, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU WANTED A NEW GENERATION OF IDOLS!?"

Shining put his hands up in a helpless gesture of defense as his former lover screamed at him furiously.

"WHAT KIND OF A FAKE EXCUSE IS THAT!?" she shrieked. "Oh! I can't believe you sometimes! What the hell were you thinking?!"

Cecil put a soothing hand on her back and gently began, "Mom, it's alright, really."

"No, Cecil, it's not alright. Just look at the poor girl. Ten babies is way to much for anyone. Having you was hard enough on me. I can't believe you didn't kill him. This is not right, Mitsuo!"

"But, Mom, we all love her, and she loves us."

Now Tokiya's mother joined the fray. "My son will have no part in this catastrophe! Tokiya, let's go, we're leaving."

"Rima, dear, calm down. Tokiya is a grown man, we can't force him to leave if he doesn't want to."

"Ichinose Nagihiko, be quiet. Tokiya, come here, now." Rima had put her hands on her hips and was staring up at her son with narrowed eyes.

Tokiya gazed back at her, seemingly unfazed. "No," he said evenly.

Rima errupted, "What do you mean 'no'? You can't really want to be part of this train wreck!"

**Meanwhile, Masaomi was grilling his own son...**

"I warned you not to go to that useless musical school. You are my heir, carry yourself with some dignity! We are leaving now and you will never look back on this incident."

Noriko, Masato's mother, put a soothing hand on her husband's arm. "Darling, calm down. Masato is happy, that is what matters most. You are nowhere near retirement, and he is a grown man, you cannot force him to do anything."

"If you want to stay here with that slut and be a little sissy boy, then you can do it without my support. You are dead to me," Masaomi spat.

Something snapped in Masato and he suddenly found his fist slamming into his father's jaw. "Never insult Haruka again," he said dangerously. "She is the light in this world, if you can't see that, then you are the one who is dead to me. Take your blood money and kindly extricate yourself from my life, permanently," he spat back at his father.

Masaomi looked down at his son in shock, his silver eyes locking with his son's blue ones. Noriko gasped, her own sapphire orbs widening in shock. Masaomi wiped away some blood that was staining his mouth. Then, he did something unexpected, he chuckled. "Nicely done, son. Forgive my harshness, but I needed to make sure you really loved this girl. You just stood up to me for the first time in your life, for that, I give you my blessing in this odd relationship, but our discussion about taking over the business is not over."

Masato was surprised, but still not quite pleased. "If you ever insult her again, I will have no qualms breaking every bone in your body."

Noriko laughed uneasily, trying to diffuse the tension, but failing miserable. Mai hugged her older brother and pulled him away from their father, closer to Haruka who was now talking to Natsuki's mother.

"Oh, Naa-chan, she's so cute! She looks just like Elizabeth!" Lulu said enthusiastically, a slight Nagoya accent evident in her voice.

"I know! That's what I said when I first met her!" Natsuki and his mother laughed and they both hugged Haruka.

Suddenly, there was a new man in the doorway. "Sorry I'm late," he called as he fixed his golden blonde hair, ruby eyes looking apologetic and frazzled. "My plane from Okinawa just got in, and- LULU!"

"Tadase," Lulu's kind green eyes suddenly hardened as she faced the man in the doorway. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see my son."

"Well he's not yours, he's mine. You were never there for us, you left us in France, so you have no right to see him."

"Lulu, you know I was not the right fit for that lifestyle, I'm not cut out to be nobility, I'm just an average guy from Okinawa, not an aristocrat like you."

Lulu glared at him and muttered something in French as she crossed her arms, looking like she was biting back saying something worse.

Natsuki glanced between his parents and sighed. "Please don't do this today. Today is about meeting Haruka and talking about the future, not the past. What happened is done with, can you two please get along for my sake?"

Lulu sighed, the fight leaving her. "Anything for you, Sweetheart."

Tadase visibly relaxed.

"What did you mean about aristocrats?" Cecil asked Lulu.

"Oh, Naa-chan never told you? I am actually in charge of the Montesquieu Estates as the Viscountess of the Sault area (A/N: real place in France, but probably doesn't actually have nobility) at the base of Mont Ventoux. That's where he grew up."

Syo gaped at his best friend. "You told me that you grew up in the French countryside, yet you conveniently forgot to mention that you are a viscount!"

Natsuki smiled innocently at his friend, rubbing the back of his head as if to say, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Sohrab looked at Natsuki in a new light, muttering something about a worthy adversary.

Tadase looked over at Haruka who was currently being hugged from behind by Natsuki. Natsuki regarded his father carefully, with wary eyes that had a slight Satsuki-like edge.

The older blonde was dressed in a casual business suit, looking like he had just come from an office, but his rough hands and tanned skin revealed his vocation to be more labor intensive.

Tadase extended a hand to Haruka. "Thank you for being with my son."

"Father, she didn't just choose me...," Natsuki started.

Tadase cut his son off though by saying, "I know. Natsuki, I work for Saotome-san. I arrived late because I was finishing the construction of your new vacation house in California. I was already informed of the situation. You don't have to worry, I understand that your love is true. Take care of her, Son."

Lulu looked at Tadase with grudging respect for caring about their son.

Tadase continued, "I have been working for the Saotome Agency since you began attending the Academy. I never stopped watching over you. Never."

Tadase reached out slowly toward his son who promptly engulfed him in a tight hug. "I love you, Papa." Tadase nearly cried in relief at his son's affectionate labeling of 'Papa'.

"I love you so much Natsuki. Your mother and I may not have worked out, but I'm sorry you got caught in the crossfire."

Tadase pulled away slowly and faced Haruka. "Thank you for everything. Making him whole, loving him, and going through with the pregnancy." Haruka gasped at his knowledge of Natsuki's split personalties becoming whole. They hadn't told anyone and she was not even aware that Shining had known about Satsuki in the first place.

As she opened her mouth to inquire about that, she was suddenly swarmed by another energetic family, the Kurusus. Syo wrapped his arms around her protectively. "Haruka, whatever you do, don't talk to them! They will rot your mind and slowly drive you insane!"

"Oy! Onii-chan is so mean!" Kaoru fake cried as he exclaimed this. "And here I came all this way to congratulate you and see the mother of my new niece or nephew." Here he unleashed a great sigh of depression.

"How could you have known that!" Syo cried in frustration. "You guys just found that out after we announced it five minutes ago!"

Syo growled at his brothers display, but he was caught off guard by his parents looking at him with sad puppy-dog eyes. "Syo-chan," they chorused. Haruka giggled as Syo swatted his father's head, chestnut bangs sweeping to the side. His mother looked up at him with innocent silver eyes, her long blonde hair draping across narrow shoulders. His father's kind cerulean eyes seemed to be laughing at his elder son.

While Syo was once more occupied by Kaoru, Yuki swept gracefully toward Haruka while her husband, Kaname, followed closely. "We would like to congratulate you for the babies. You are the most important person to our Syo-chan, please take care of him. If you ever need anything, please don't hesitate to ask," Yuki informed Haruka. Kaname nodded to signify his agreement.

Haruka was getting tired of standing, so she wandered over to sit on the sofa beside Ren who was calmly discussing matters with his brothers. When she sat beside her lover, his second eldest brother bowed before her, bringing her delicate hand gracefully to his lips. "It is an honor to meet you, Lady Haruka. My name is Jinguji Kenji, I hope my idiot younger brother has not caused you too much trouble over the years. "

As Kenji ranted, Ren stood up briskly and slapped his brother on the back of the head, forcing him to face-plant on the plush couch cushions. Seiichiro laughed at his younger brothers' antics. As Ren and Kenji acted like five-year-olds, Seiichiro approached the young lady who had captured so many hearts.

"You have done so much to help Ren over the years. It is my hope that you may continue to do so. If you need the assistance of our family, I will support you. Please look after my brother, he should always have that shining smile."

"Of course, and it is nice to see you again, Jinguji-san," Haruka continued politely.

"Please call me Seiichiro, we're family now."

Kenji paused his fight with Ren. "And you can call me Kenji, Madame."

Ren pushed Kenji away. "That's enough out of you. My apologies, Haruka. There was a reason you only met Kenji today."

Haruka laughed as Ren straightened his hair and let out a deep sigh. "It's quite alright, your brothers are wonderful." Ren looked surprised by her enthusiasm.

**Back to Tokiya...**

"Rima, please stop it, you don't even know the girl. She could be wonderful, you have to give her a chance," Nagihiko pleaded on behalf of their son.

After a half an hour of fighting and getting nowhere, Rima gave in with a sigh. "Fine, I'll talk to the girl and see how well-suited she is for Tokiya. After what happened to Ikuto, I don't want him to get hurt too." At the mention of her elder son, Rima's eyes began to well up with tears.

Tokiya looked down at the floor, shoulders tense and fists clenched. Regret for getting his mother so worked up resounded within him. Haruka's slender arms wrapped around him as she soothed, "It's alright Tokiya, I'm here."

Tokiya collapsed on a couch across from his parents. Nagihiko was holding Rima's hand reassuringly. Haruka sat beside Tokiya and his fingers intertwined with hers. "I actually did have a twin brother named Ikuto, before I met you. When we were young, he was my best friend, he kept me light-hearted and he stopped me from being too serious. But, before Saotome Academy, we were on our way home from one of my jobs as HAYATO. He was depressed because his girlfriend had cheated on him with his best friend, me. We were barely speaking at that point, him having just found out while on set with me. I felt terrible because I didn't even know they were dating. He had walked into my dressing room, ready to tell me about his amazing new girlfriend, Saaya, but instead he found her making out with me." Here Tokiya made a sound of absolute disgust and contempt at himself. "She had played both of us, but he was too broken to hear anything, not that I offered much. When we were about twenty-minutes from home, we were ambushed by a gang of thugs who were looking for money."

Tokiya's eyes began to well, but he continued on with the story. "They had guns, and after they took all of our cash, they pointed the guns at us. I heard the shot ring out, but instead of feeling a searing pain, I felt Ikuto's body land on me. I screamed at the top of my lungs as the thugs ran away. Ikuto looked at me, pain clouding his eyes. I had looked at him and asked, 'Why?', he just looked at me with eyes full of love, 'Because no matter what happens, you are always my number one, my best friend, my partner in crime. I just wish I had longer with you.' I looked down at him and said, 'You're going to be alright. You have to be alright, okay? You can't leave me here alone. Please, Ikuto.'" Tokiya's voice broke on a sob. "But he just looked at me grimly, his blood covering both of us now. By the time the cops got there, he was already gone. It took three men to pull me away from him. I refused to believe he could be dead. Within a week they had caught the men responsible, but it wasn't enough. The following month, I had gone out in my car, driving too fast in a sad attempt to feel something other than emptiness, but instead of that, I almost met my own death. Going 100 KM/H, I got distracted and hit a tree, I was hospitalized for a while, struggling to find myself again, to be someone without him."

Tokiya paused and looked at Haruka who was sobbing empathetically for his tale. "For a while I pretended I was okay, but you were the one who really saved me. You reminded me of who I was and who I could be. I felt that just maybe, with you, everything would be alright again. I love you so much Haruka. Thank you for being in my life." Now Tokiya looked at his mother who was sobbing as well. "Mother, Haruka has saved me. These last few years, I have only been able to be myself again because she was here for me. Without her, I would still be like I was back then. Please let us be together, Mother."

Rima looked at Haruka, her eyes were no longer as hard as they had been. "She's not cheating on me with the others, she is saving all of us. I love her despite everything, or maybe because of everything that has happened. I never want to be with anyone but her," Tokiya finished resolutely.

"Ichinose-san," Haruka addressed Tokiya's mother, "No one should have to go through what you went through. I'm sorry sorry for your loss, but please let Tokiya stay with me, stay with us. I love him and I always want to hear his wonderful voice singing for the world to hear. Your son is one of my best friends and he is a wonderful man with a bright future. I hope that you may understand the happiness he brings to others and the importance he has to us all," here Haruka gestured around the room to the other members of STARISH, Shining, the teachers, and QUARTET NIGHT who were all looking affectionately at Haruka and Tokiya. "I hope that if not now, then someday we can be friends."

Rima's face was hidden by her hair when she stood. She walked over to Haruka and pulled the slightly taller woman into a hug. Rima cried as she talked and Haruka rubbed her back soothingly. "I'm sorry for trying to judge you before knowing you. I just didn't want Tokiya to get hurt too. After losing Ikuto, things have been tense between us all. I'm glad to see that my worries were for nothing. You are a wonderful young woman, please continue look after Tokiya."

"Shh. It's alright. It's okay now, we're all here for you. If you need us, we'll be here for you, Ichinose-san."

Rima looked up at Haruka. "And if you ever need us, we'll be here for you."

"Oh, I almost forgot, here," Haruka smiled, handing Rima an ultra-sound picture.

Rima gasped, "Oh my goodness, they're so beautiful." Rima glanced between Haruka's midsection and the sonogram. "Hello my beautiful grand-babies, your Grandma and Grandpa are here. You all will have the most amazing parents, all eight of them. Soon enough I'll get to meet you guys, and I want to be there for you every step of the way."

The guys passed out the extra sonograms Dr. Hihara had given them to the rest of the crowd.

"This is so touching," Reiji cried in the corner, holding his own copy of the black and white picture.

Ranmaru hit him over the head, but as he went to scold the older man who acted like a child, his attention landed on a very attractive person just across the room. The person saw him gawking and gave a sly wink. Ranmaru blushed and made his way through the crowds. Icy blue eyes enchanted the rock artist. From behind, Reiji smirked knowingly. Ranmaru continued his slow approach and, in turn, the blue-eyed charmer advanced toward him.

"When did you get here?" Ranmaru asked, dumbfounded.

"I'm just as surprised to see you here, Darling."

"Shh! Not in front of people!" Ranmaru hissed, a faint blush adorning his cheeks.

"I'd rather listen to that sort of command in the bedroom," Kaito winked at his boyfriend. Yes people, Haruka's older brother and Kurosaki Ranmaru are boyfriends. They met a little over a year ago at a rock concert in Germany. They had exchanged numbers at the time, and after returning to Japan, they had kept in contact and they had been going out happily for six months now even though Ranmaru was a bit shy about being openly gay.

"You're in an unusually good mood, aren't you," Ranmaru stated.

"Well now I get to see these guys squirm as they explain to their families. It was less fun when Haruka had to explain to us."

"Now there's the sadist I know," Ranmaru laughed to himself.

Kaito looked up at his boyfriend with a sudden seriousness. "You know, my family already knows that I'm gay, and no one's opinion really matters, we should just come out. Right now."

"Now? I think this is a little sudden."

"Really," Reiji butted in, "I was rooting for you guys, you're so cute together! Com on Ran-Ran!"

Ranmaru sighed as his boyfriend and his bandmate urged him to tell. "Alright, but what if they take it badly?"

"After everyone in this room agreed to letting Nanami be in a relationship with seven different men, I highly doubt they will object to a relationship between two men," Ai informed.

Ranmaru jumped, "Where the hell did you come from!?" he shouted at his youngest bandmate.

"I agree, there should not be a problem with you relationship in the eyes of these peasants and few nobles," Camus added thoughtfully.

"Alright, alright. Let's do this," Ranmaru conceded.

Kaito stood up in front of the large television as he declaimed, "Attention please, we have an announcement to make!" The assembled people listened curiously. Kaito pulled Ranmaru up beside him. "My boyfriend, Ranmaru, and I would like to announce our six month anniversary."

The crowd froze, comprehending what they had just said. Haruka was the first to speak, "Congratulations! I wish you both happiness!" Soon the whole room seemed to come back to life as cheers and whistles rang out from the people gathered around.

Ranmaru sighed in relief, letting out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. Reiji flashed a grin at the couple and Ranmaru mouthed a 'thank you'.

After a short time longer of mingling, Reiji and Ren emerged from the kitchen to announce that dinner was ready. The two chefs had outdone themselves, preparing enough food for all thirty-six people. They had curry, hot pot, takoyaki, yakisoba, sushi, and (as a joke aimed at Cecil) pizza.

The large family(?) gathered around the extensive oak table that ran through the dining room. At the head was Shining with Sohrab at the other end. When the meal was over, everyone retired to the various rooms around the house.

After Kotomi was asleep beside him, Sohrab withdrew his cell phone (yes he has one) and sent one word to an unknown number, "NOW." As soon as he hit the button, he placed a gas mask over his face.

Within moments, he could hear the faint noise of the villa's ventilation system activating and an odorless gas spread through the house.

In her room, Haruka was laying down with Tokiya curled up on her lap. She ran her fingers absently through his beautiful blue locks with one hand while the other wrote down a new melody that had come to mind after dinner.

She suddenly found her eyes becoming heavy and her throat became dry. "Wha-?" She didn't get to finish her inquiry before she passed out on the bed. Tokiya jumped up, startled by her fainting. At the doorframe, Cecil collapsed, his own eyes beginning to close. Tokiya looked at him, his own throat becoming as dry as a desert.

Cecil croaked, "Damn that old bastard," just before he collapsed. Tokiya fell to his knees, unable to fight the urge to sleep.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Again, I'm so sorry for the delay in updating. Remember the first person to tell me where Tokiya's parents names are from gets to name one of his future children. If you tell me where Syo's parents are from you can name the child of either Tomo-chan and Kei or Kaito and Ranmaru. The same goes for if you tell me where I got the names for Natsuki's parents. Please review and all that great stuff. Thank you guys so much for your continued support!**

**R&amp;R!**


	11. King for a Day: Part 1

**A/N: So it's time for an update! Thank you all so much for participating in the baby naming contest. Keep in mind that if you did get to name a character, they may not appear until much later chapters, but I promise they will be there. Thank you guys for following, favoriting, and reviewing! Remember to R&amp;R and enjoy!**

**Dicalimer: Still not my property!**

* * *

Cecil groaned as he stirred awake. A blinding light was apparent even from behind his closed eyelids. When he finally managed to open his eyes, he gasped in shock. No longer was he in the ivory-walled room where Haruka and Tokiya were last night, instead he was in a room that he knew all too well; his childhood bedroom in Agnapolis. Cecil sat up in alarm, looking around for his friends or Haruka.

The prince jumped to his feet, getting off the plush, four-poster bed. Running to the large wooden doors, he tugged on the handle, cursing when he found it to be locked. He began pounding on the door, shouting for someone to let him out.

"You should have just accepted the throne five years ago, but it is better late than never," a voice said from a dark emerald chair. Cecil turned to glare at his father who was grinning in triumph. "You see, you will accept the throne very shortly. You must have thought you were so clever, trying to stay away until after your 21st birthday so you would not be allowed to ascend to the throne, but I knew exactly what you were doing, now I just have leverage." Cecil shivered at the way his father said the last word.

"And what makes you think I would ever willingly take that throne?" Cecil growled with clenched fists.

His father let out a barking laugh. "Well, maybe you would like a little input from your dear Haruka, oh wait, I cannot allow that right now."

"How dare you bring her into this! I don't want a throne that is stained with the blood of our people. I want to be free of this whole country! It may seem beautiful on the outside, or in the eyes of a child, but as I grew up, I discovered the wicked secrets lurking beneath. And you; you're a wolf in sheep's clothes. When I was little I worshipped you like I do the Muses, but you are a dangerous man, I hate you!"

Cecil was too furious to notice the sadness in his father's eyes. The sadness was masked by the time the prince faced his king again. "You have two choices, Son. You can either take the throne and make Haruka your queen, in which case I will let all of your friends and their families go free, or you can refuse and you will never see any of them ever again."

Cecil's fight left him when he heard his father's words. Sohrab continued on, "You have six hours to decide. Choose wisely."

...xxXXxx...

Haruka woke up in a gilded room with drawn curtains. She could just see a glimmer of light streaming in from the crack between the thick velvet drapes. Rising slowly, she was surprised to find herself in an ivory gown with gold trimming with shimmering teal jewels that adorned her throat and crown. The dress was floor length and shimmered in the bright light that flooded in when Haruka pulled back the curtains.

Haruka's hand flew to her swollen abdomen when she looked at the flood of people on the city streets below. White and cream-colored buildings stretched as far as the eye could see and dark-skinned people waved to the ivory-skinned composer above.

"W-where am I?" she gasped.

...xxXXxx...

In an entirely different wing of the palace, everyone else from the villa was locked in a giant series of chambers. Food and clothes were laid out, but there was no escape. The windows were locked and barred and the door was three feet of solid cement.

"Damn it!" Syo yelled as he punched a wall. "Where the hell are we?! And where are Haruka and Cecil!?"

Shining looked out of the window as he spoke, "We are in Agnapolis. My guess is that Cecil has been putting off his coronation for too long and now the king is... working things out. You might want to find a way out of here or Miss Nanami could be the new queen of Agnapolis and we may be stuck here."

"WHAT!" Otoya shrieked. "I thought you said he was your friend, can't you do something about this?"

"I'm afraid I have no jurisdiction here. But the reason for all of this may be so that power is not passed to Sohrab's brother's line. Here in Agnapolis, the crown prince must ascend to the throne between the age of fifteen and twenty-one or else power will be passed to the next royal line if there are no other legitimate heirs. He may also be trying to stall until the babies are delivered because a royal child would perpetuate the throne in Sohrab's direct bloodline."

The boys paled as the realized the precarious situation they were now in. The tangible silence was broken by the sound of Kaito's fist shattering the drywall where it impacted. "How dare anyone touch my little sister, and to use her and us as bait; it's despicable. Listen up men, we are going to go rescue our princess before she becomes the queen!"

"Don't forget about us," Tomo-chan said as she gestured to herself and the other women. "Haruka is my best friend, and no one is going to use her as bait on my watch."

"One of us should escape through the air vent and fend off the guards that are, no doubt, just outside this door. The wedding and coronation are crucial to Sohrab's plans, so he must be trying to contain us. The only one of us small enough to get through the air vent, though,is Miss Hijirikawa, but we need someone who can fight off the guards," Shining pondered.

Mai looked right at him and said, "I can fight the guards. Ever since I was little, Father has been training me in the ways of the sword and mother has taught me hand-to-hand combat."

"But Mai-chan, it's too dangerous!" Noriko cried.

"Unlike the rest of this family, I have met Haruka-nee-chan before. She is a kind and wonderful person who cares for Onii-chan very, very much. I want to do this for her and for the sake of my future nieces or nephews."

"Mai," Masato began, "it will be dangerous, so at least take this with you," he finished, handing her a sword that he had taken down from the wall. ( Gotta love convenience.)

Mai took the sword from her brother with a solemn nod. Natsuki tore the vent off of the wall and stood back.

Ai looked at the teen and handed her a folded piece of paper. "I prepared a map of the palace air-ducts based on the positioning of where we are in the palace and a set of blueprints I memorized. The dashed lines will lead you to a viable point of exit and then the solid line will lead you back to the other side of this door. You shall succeed if you follow my directions. Based on my data, you have the skill level to defeat any guards you may encounter."

With that, Mai was off through the cold, silver air duct, and everyone else was forced to wait for her to come back.

...xxXXxx...

A few hours later, Cecil heard the click of a key being turned on his bedroom door, walking toward the looming oak structure, he faced his father once more.

"I hope you have a favorable response," Sohrab drawled, knowing that any decision his son made would not have been made lightly.

Cecil gritted his teeth. "I will take the throne. Just let the others go."

"Very good choice, my boy." Sohrab withdrew his cell phone and called a number. Cecil heard it ring for a moment before the call was picked up. "Yes, let them go after the ceremony, send over the stylists, and make sure the new queen is ready in an hour." Sohrab hung up after a nameless subordinate gave the affirmative.

Soon Cecil was lost in a swarm of stylists who dressed him in the traditional formal robes of Agnapolis. The cream colored cloth wrapped around his body and the gold trim signified his rank. Teal stones decorated the broaches that held his robes in place. Cecil looked sadly in the mirror as he thought, 'Forgive me, Haruka.'

...xxXXxx...

Haruka's head snapped toward the door when she heard it opening. Kotomi walked in followed by several other women who were dressed in plain lavender gowns with teal edges. Haruka noted that Kotomi looked like she had been crying recently based on the puffiness under her eyes and the redness of her face. Haruka took the queen into her arms and tried soothing her.

"Oh my dear, I'm so sorry this has to happen," Kotomi apologized.

Haruka's innocent honey eyes met the clouded seas of the queen's. "What do you mean?"

"Cecil's coronation is tonight, and Sohrab is holding your wedding first. He intends to keep you here as the new queen. If Cecil hadn't agreed to ascend to the throne, all of your friends and family would have been held prisoner here."

Haruka gasped, "Why would he do such a thing? Can Cecil not be coronated later? Why now?"

Kotomi shook her head. "In Agnapolis, the crown prince must be coronated by the time he turns 21 or else power is passed to the next highest ranking family. I would normally say 'who cares,' but the next ranking family is that of Sohrab's brother, Dimande, and his wife, Esmeraude. He is an awful man, which is why he must never take the throne, and why he is currently under house arrest. However, I never wanted Cecil to get caught up in all of this. I know I didn't think this through, but now Cecil must become king."

With that, Kotomi got up and left while the handmaidens prepared Haruka for her wedding. They girls deftly applied rouge, eyeliner, mascara, and lip color. When they turned the mirror toward Haru, she could barely recognize the elegant beauty as herself. Her pretty rose pink locks were lightly curled with the front strands pulled back in a golden clip shaped like Cecil's violet tattoo. Her eyelashes were curled upwards, giving full visibility to her shimmering amber eyes. Her lips were painted a shimmering pink with a clear gloss overtop. A fine coat of blush painted her delicate cheeks the color of spring chrysanthemums.

Adorning her head was a delicate band of gold with the finest gems dangling from it. Attached was a thin, gossamer veil with intricate gold patterns woven in. Her necklace was a series of beautiful gold chains at varying levels that each had a beryl gem set in gold in the shape of a music note. The gown she wore was pure white like freshly fallen snow with an empire waist and a sweetheart neckline. Around the waist of the dress was a golden belt fashioned with swirling music notes and instruments. From the belt, a sheer teal layer of sparkling chiffon wrapped around her body with a slit in the front so that the fabric draped around her baby bump.

The chiffon pooled at her feet with the rest of the dress and her little feet were showcased in a pair of low heels with a teal bow on the front. Haruka was also wearing a pair of long white gloves with gold and teal bracelets. She looked absolutely radiant, or at least she might have if she could have brought herself to smile. She loved Cecil, but this was not the way she hoped things would go. She loved all of her boys, and to think that she may never see them again...

No, she told herself. She had to be strong, everything would be alright, she just had to have faith in STARISH and her family.

...xxXXxx...

Everyone waited with bated breath as they finally heard the lock click. Mai opened the door and stood there triumphantly. "Let's go save Haru-nee-chan!"

Shintaro, Kaito and Kei cracked their knuckles and grabbed the nearest things that could be used as weapons, "Anyone who messes with our Haru-chan will pay." An aura of evil radiated off of the trio, but they were nothing compared to STARISH.

"Must kill...," was what the aura around STARISH seemed to be saying. Masato took the sword back from Mai when she offered it. Natsuki seemed to become Satsuki one more. Syo and the others also seemed determined to use raw force. Minori's eyes were like steel now as she, Rima, Lulu, Yuki, and Noriko formed a team ready to hurt anyone who got in the way of their children's happiness. Tomochika, Ringo, and Mai were determined to get their friend back, and the other fathers and brothers also formed a task force. Finally there was QUARTET NIGHT and Hyuuga-sensei who were also ready to kick some ass.

"Okay guys, split up and look for Haruka or Cecil!" Tomochika ordered. Soon the groups charged through the doors, headed off in different directions. Shortly into their search, Mai's group heard a girl shouting. As they cautiously approached the sound, they found themselves on the other side of Miki's door. "LET ME OUT!" she screamed. Pounding from her side was also heard.

Ringo looked at the door and held up his thumb, as if sizing it up. "Allow me," he smirked. He shouted to the other side, "Stand back!" He stepped out of his ruby red heels and did a spinning back-kick right where the door met the frame. The door buckled and splintered into little pieces.

Mai and Tomochika joined Miki in staring at him with slack-jaws. "Since when can you do that!?" Tomochika squeaked.

"Well when you dress like a girl, you have to know how to defend yourself from both pervs and bullies, so I took self-defense classes with a bit of Judo."

Miki looked at him, still in shock. "Th-thanks," she managed to stutter.

Ringo winked at her, causing a deep blush to color her mocha skin. Then he spoke again. "Your brother and Haru-chan are being held hostage, do you know where we might find them?"

"I can lead you to Cecil's room. Just follow me," she responded before taking off down the hallway. The other three looked at each other, nodded, and ran after Miki.

After what seemed like an endless maze of gilded hallways and parlors, Miki finally stopped in front of a pair of large wooden doors. "This is my brother's room," she whispered, touching the wood gingerly. "I just hope he's okay."

Tomochika gently pushed on the door and found it to be open. The group rushed inside and began looking around.

"This is definitely Cesshi's room," Ringo pointed out, "but the problem is the he's not here."

"He was here not too long ago though." Mai pointed to the bed where the teal covers were twisted and warm to the touch.

"Where could he be!?" Tomochika shouted. Suddenly they heard a melody playing and Miki paled.

"That's the wedding march!" she squeaked.

Tomichika, Ringo and Mai simultaneously shouted, "EH!?"

"We have to hurry, the wedding and coronation must be soon!" Mai shouted before running off again. The others were hot on her tail.

On their way through the winding maze, the group managed to find the parents, brothers, and QUARTET NIGHT with Hyuuga-sensei. "Man!" Tomochika shouted "Where is STARISH when you need them?"

Her question was answered soon enough though when Miki abruptly stopped upon entering an antechamber. The others skidded to a halt behind her. Ahead of them was STARISH fighting off a battalion of guards in front of a pair of white doors with gold molding.

Satsuki threw one man over his shoulder and then barely paused before using a round-kick to take out two more at the same time. Tokiya leapt deftly over two guards and knocked their heads together while in mid-air. Ren and Masato played tag-team by guarding each other's backs and fighting off a circle of guards. Masato wielded the sword with grace while Ren threw punches like a seasoned boxer. Syo and Otoya were helping each other out too. Otoya swung one of the guard's clubs and Syo used his martial arts from Prince of Precipices.

Kei, Shintaro, and Kaito wasted no time in joining the fray. The others soon joined in, and while the heroes were outnumbered ten to one, no one could stop them from saving Haruka and Cecil.

Masato and Masomi fought side-by-side with Mai and Noriko, and Seiichiro and Kenji joined Ren naturally. "We have to hurry guys!" Miki called over the roar of the crowd. "The wedding march is almost over!"

With renewed vigor, the guys fought on for their princess with their families joining them. But would they make it in time?

...xxXXxx...

Haruka slowly made her way to the alter where Cecil stood with a priest. He blushed when he saw the beauty who carried his child walking down the isle toward him. He felt another flash of guilt that he would be married to her before any of the others. He had figured the would all have a commitment ceremony one day, but being the only one to marry her was unfair. Even the little part of his heart that was happy he would be the one marrying her realized this was not how he would have done it.

Glancing over to Sohrab, Cecil found himself growing weary. After all these years, he would take the crown after all. He was torn between a laugh and a sob. Kotomi looked on with remorse at her son's crestfallen expression. She didn't want him to go through with this, but Cecil would understand everything soon enough.

Beside her, Sohrab coughed into a handkerchief. She took note of the dark red stain in the once white cloth, but she said nothing because she already knew.

When Haruka finally stopped in front of him, she looked into his eyes. The two of them shared a moment of sad understanding as they realized the implications of going through, and not going through, with this marriage.

As the priest droned on, Haruka's eyes met Cecil's once more and this time they held each other's gaze until the priest handed Cecil a ring. The two snapped out of their reverie as Cecil took the ring and the priest said something in his native language. Cecil responded and turned to Haruka, reaching for her hand slowly, asking permission one last time...

...xxXXxx...

After some time of relative silence from the other side of the door, the group was almost done with the guards. A final fifty men blocked the door solemnly. The group faced them with determined eyes before lunging into battle once more.

After fighting the sea of guards, our tired heroes trudged toward the door. Satsuki stood before both doors and pulled them open. When they looked inside, they gasped in shock.

"Haruka," the boys whispered.

...xxXXxx...

Cecil slowly slid the ring onto Haruka's left index finger. The crystal clear diamond was surrounded by smaller blue diamonds and beryl that sparkled like the stars. This thought saddened Haruka because she missed her stars.

The priest turned to Haruka, pressing the matching silver band into her palm. He spoke in Japanese for the first time to her, albeit with a thick accent. "Do you, Nanami Haruka, take Crown Prince Aijima Cecil to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I- I."

Suddenly her head snapped to the side when she heard the doors open and she let out a sigh.

* * *

**A/N: Hooray for cliffhangers! Sorry again for the wait. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please remember to review and let me know what you thought. This story has taken some interesting twists, I think. When I first developed the concept, it would have jumped from chapter one to the delivery of the babies, but then all of this happened in between.**

**See you next time! **


	12. King for a Day Pt2 Moving Onward

**A/N: So sorry for the two month delay, but I just took a six week college class over the summer, and it took more time than realized. I don't really know how many people actually read author's notes, but for those of you who do, thank you! Thanks to everyone who faves, follows, or reviews. You guys are awesome. Which is why I'm sorry to say that last chapter was actually a reader trap. You'll see what I mean in a minute...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Uta no Prince-sama!**

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The priest turned to Haruka, pressing the matching silver band into her palm. He spoke in Japanese for the first time to her, albeit with a thick accent. "Do you, Nanami Haruka, take Crown Prince Aijima Cecil to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I- I."

Suddenly her head snapped to the side when she heard the doors open. She let out a sigh of slight disappointment; it was just an official slipping into the room quickly.

...xxXXxx...

Everyone with STARISH was shocked to see the bare walls of the empty grand hall. At the far end of the room, a projector displayed the wedding in a live feed.

Syo yelled and punched another wall. Miki collapsed to her knees, muttering about the bells and the guards.

"I cannot believe it was all a diversion," Masato growled.

On screen, Haruka was stuttering before coming to a decision. "I do," she whispered, barely loud enough to hear.

The priest said something in his language and Cecil slowly drew Haruka closer and kissed her reassuringly, but his eyes betrayed his doubt.

Ren was staring angrily at the way Haruka and Cecil were displayed in front of a crowd of officials while Tokiya noted a disturbance in the audience. He looked around the screen and caught Sohrab coughing violently, his eyes widened in surprise when the once-white cloth turned crimson.

He called out to the others, never taking his eyes off the screen, "Everyone, come and look at this!" When everyone was gathered, he pointed to Sohrab.

Shining seemed to know something, but he kept quiet. "So now what?" Tomochika asked.

"We're gonna go steal the bride," Kei replied, his amber eyes were steely.

...xxXXxx...

Haruka looked at Cecil once more as they were escorted to the throne room. "Cecil, what are we going to do?"

"Don't worry, My Princess. I have a plan. I promise I will get us out of here, so please trust in me for a while longer."

Haruka nodded her agreement as they continued down the halls. In less than an hour, Haruka was standing in front of a large crowd again, only this time it was the entire country. The coronation took place on a large balcony over the crowd, and soon enough, Haruka found herself to be queen. She had looked up in surprise when they removed Kotomi's crown and placed it on her head. The jeweled golden circlet was beautiful on her, but Cecil could not feel happy that she had become his queen this way.

When the ceremony was finished, Cecil still looked stressed; there was an unusual tension around his eyes that displayed his anxiety. Whatever his plan was, Haruka hoped it would be soon. As soon as the coronation was complete, they were once more paraded through the hallways while flanked by guards. They were brought into a formal dining room with a banquet table nearly as long as the hallway they had just vacated and surrounded by unfamiliar faces.

Haruka jumped a little when the babies stirred again. She drew Cecil's warm hand to her abdomen, hoping that it would help him relax. Cecil managed to crack a smile for a moment, but it soon slipped as his father approached.

"You have done well, Your Majesty," Sohrab announced. One may have expected him to look smug, but instead he just looked weary. Kotomi drew to his side, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek and avoiding Haruka's eyes.

Cecil ignored his father and took his seat at the head of the table. Haruka was seated to his right. Dinner was slow and everyone chattered in their native tongue, leaving the bride feeling left out. Cecil, for his part, did not say anything.

Just as dessert was drawing to a close, Sohrab stood up and the room silenced as all eyes turned to him. He cleared his throat and announced something that was met with cheers of adulation from the sea of people, and a glare from Cecil.

"What is he saying, Cecil?" Haruka asked timidly. She did not like seeing her, well, husband acting like this.

Cecil turned his head toward her, his eyes softening immensely. "He made an announcement about the babies," Cecil told her reluctantly. "I'm sorry Haruka. I only need you to stay with me on this for a few more minutes. I'm just waiting for one particular person to get here before this will work."

...xxXXxx...

Miki lead STARISH and the others all over the palace until they finally tracked the wedding procession down to that particular formal dining room. It had taken several hours of searching before they had even spotted a servant, and then it had taken a few moments of extortion courtesy of Natsuki before Cecil's location had been revealed.

Unfortunately, that particular room was on the other side of the massive palace, and they met more guards along the way. Unfortunately for the guards, nothing could stop STARISH or Haruka's family.

After taking out the guards at the dining room's entrance, Tokiya was getting anxious. Haruka shouldn't be going through something like this. It wasn't fair to her that she was getting dragged into everything. First the pregnancy, then the relationship, and now she had been kidnapped, married, and coronated in the span of twenty-four hours. Tokiya tried to force himself to think positively. This would make one heck of a story for the kids one day.

Syo was getting tired of running around the palace, he just wanted to hold Haruka in the safety of his arms again. After this, he wouldn't let her out of his sight for weeks.

Natsuki's eyes were hard like unpolished emeralds. It would take everyone to stop him from killing Cecil's stupid father. How dare he hurt Haruka like this!

Miki pushed open the large wooden doors just in time for all hell to break loose.

...xxXXxx...

Cecil heard the commotion outside the doors, so he stood abruptly, dragging Haruka with him. In his native tongue, he announced, "To all who are gathered here today, I have several important announcements to make. This beautiful woman beside me," here he gave her hand a squeeze, "is not mine alone. We were not supposed to be together like this, and the babies aren't even mine necessarily. I am sorry to put you all through this, but I refuse to rule as I stand before you. As the King of Angnapolis, I cannot give up my crown, but I can leave an acting ruler in my place." He paused before continuing, "By the full authority of my station, I would like to declare the acting leader of this country to be my older sister, Aijima Miki, the completely legitimate daughter of Aijima Sohrab."

Several things happened all at once as Cecil finished his speech. Miki and the families burst into the banquet hall, STARISH formed a protective ring around Haruka, Sohrab had a coughing fit before he collapsed face-first onto the table, and Kotomi screamed.

Everything suddenly turned to slow motion as Cecil and Miki stared at their father in horror. Blood was trickling down his chin, and his eyes had rolled back into his head. Kotomi kept screaming and crying, and Shining held her back as several palace medics transported him out of the room.

The party guests were running around in a panic before Cecil ordered them to be dismissed.

After the crowd had dispersed, Cecil ran to join his mother and sister in his father's chambers.

When he got there, the former king was laying on his bed, his breathing was thick and wheezy. Sohrab looked over to Cecil when the new king entered. Cecil's face was twisted into a grimace as he tried to look angry while holding back hot tears.

"I'm sorry that it had to be this way, Cecil," Sohrab managed to get out. "I always wanted you to be the good king that could save this county from people like me. Please don't be bitter about this, I only did what I had to. You've made me so much prouder than you'll ever know. Be sure to take care of that angel, a girl like her is a once-in-a-lifetime find. Be strong, my little tiger." Sohrab trailed off, his eyes slowly glazing over, and his fingers slipping from Cecil's.

"Baba?" Cecil whimpered. "Baba! Baba, no," Cecil cried. The tears he had been holding back finally spilled over. "You can't do this to me! You can't leave just like that after what you put me through. Don't you dare, don't you-," his voice cracked, and Cecil just sobbed against his father's chest. The steady, demanding heartbeat Sohrab had always had was gone. His deep brown eyes had been closed by a medic, and Cecil was faintly aware of Kotomi and Miki holding each other as they sobbed a few feet away.

Baba, was gone. His powerful lungs now ceased working, they had quit just like his heart.

When he was able to pull himself together better, Cecil faced his mother. "How long," he ground out. She looked confused. "How long," he repeated harshly, "how long was he waiting to die?"

Kotomi started crying again, "Three months. His lungs were deteriorating, he was drowning in blood."

Cecil just nodded numbly. He needed Haruka, he needed his brother, he needed to be away from this room. He wanted to go home. "Home," he realized, was not here, it was with Haruka and his friends.

Cecil swept out of the room to find his wife and friends waiting just outside. When Cecil saw Haruka, he broke down again, falling to his knees when she hugged him gently. She murmured soothing words, but he couldn't care less what she said, he was just glad to have her there.

...xxXXxx...

They stayed in Agnapolis for the funeral, but once the procession had finished, Cecil made Miki the pseudo-monarch officially. Miki and Cecil had developed a better relationship since their father's passing, and she accepted her new position without question, grateful for the trust Cecil placed in her.

When they left, Ringo was the only one to stay back with Miki. He claimed it was only to keep an eye on the girl, but the mothers suspected otherwise, especially when Ringo stopped dressing up, and showed up as a boy.

When they returned to the vacation house, everyone was pretty emotionally drained. Their families had gone their separate ways along with the other idols. For the first time in a while, Haruka was alone with her boys. For the remainder of their trip, they shared one large bed, all of the boys were determined not to let Haruka out of their sight.

When they finally returned to Japan, they were less than pleased to find the headlines.

"Pregnant Princess!" some screamed. "The Composer and the King," others announced. On every street corner, there were tabloids talking about Haruka and Cecil's wedding and coronation as well has her pregnancy and Sohrab's passing. They speculated that she was nearly full term, not imagining that she was only six months along.

When the limo pulled up to a sprawling mansion, a crowd of paparazzi was waiting by the gates. A fleet of security guards held back many of the journalists, but many were still trying to get a glimpse of the famous boy-band or their renowned composer.

For once, Haruka was glad for the tinted windows of the vehicle. She was still confused about everything going on at the moment. Between the hormones, the events of Agnapolis, and the rabid press, she was trying very hard to keep herself composed.

She let out a grateful sigh when the gates closed behind them, and she gasped in awe as she took in the three-story masterpiece she would soon call home. The car stopped under a portico, and the driver stepped around to open the door for the eight passengers. The guys got out first, and Natsuki offered a hand to their queen.

Yes, technically, Haruka was now the queen of Agnapolis, the composer for STARISH, Cecil's wife, and a soon-to-be mother. And the press knew all of the above. Just not the fact that she was also in a relationship with seven men, and currently carrying ten babies, and they planned to keep the press in the dark for as long as possible.

When they entered the foyer of the house, Haruka started crying in happiness when she saw a whole wall with pictures of her family, their family. All of them from her brothers to Rima and Nagihiko; Noriko and Mai to Tadase and Lulu, and there was still space for the new members who would be joining them shortly.

Tokiya stood behind her, his hands resting under her baby bump, and his chin resting on her shoulder. "Our family," he whispered.

"Our family," Masato echoed, his voice full of wonder.

"The future is ours to forge," Ren added. "Let us create a shining future with you, Lady."

Haruka nodded at her lovers. "Our family, yours and mine."

After a little while longer of taking in the pictures, the family moved to explore the house. There was a gigantic library off of the main hall, and a large kitchen stocked fully just a few doors down. The kitchen had a pass-through which one could see into a breakfast nook, albeit a breakfast nook that could fit thirty. On the other side of the kitchen was a door that led to a formal dining room. On the other side of the entryway was a large sitting room which led to a family room replete with game stations and a large spinning rack of DVDs and Blu-Rays. The screen looked like it belonged in a movie theater, and there was plenty of seating for the large family. A little ways father was an in-home gym complete with all the needed equipment to keep seven idols with movie-ready bodies. Onwards still, they discovered a large laundry room with a chute that they guessed dumped laundry from the chutes upstairs.

When they looked out on the back deck, they saw an in-ground pool, a playground, and a large patio. Further back, past the rose garden, there was a two-story guest house, that was bigger than her grandmother's house.

Up the spiral stairs was a seemingly endless hallway of spare bedrooms, all of them complete with their own restrooms, laundry chutes, and plenty of closet space; some of the rooms had adjoining doors too. Besides the never-ending rooms, there was a playroom full of baby toys that had no sharp edges, and had a foam-covered floor. Around the bend in the hallway was a series of sound-proof rooms for the boys to practice and record in. Across the hall from the sound booths was a large room filled with every instrument imaginable. There was also a computer room. It had several side rooms for independent usage, and a row of desks with high-speed desktops.

By the time they reached the third floor, they had discovered the elevator, so they used that as opposed to the stairs. The elevator doors opened into a little antechamber that also held a door leading to the stairs. They opened one of the several white wood doors to find that it led into a pastel yellow room, and Haruka started crying again as she took in the row of white cribs that lay along the left wall. The right wall had a few changing tables and the doors to a large closet full of baby clothes. There were even more littles outfits in the white wardrobe and dresser near the window. The window overlooked the pool out back, and from their vantage point, they could see that the rose garden looked like a series of music notes from above. On the other side of the window was a built-in bookshelf that had many classic story-time books and a rocking chair in the corner. There was also a kitchenette for preparing bottles, and a custom stroller that could be split into five twin strollers, or become one ten-seater.

Ahead of them was a pair of white wood double doors. The boys let Haruka open the door to the massive room first. Inside the room was a very large bed with cream colored bedding, a large sitting area with a television, and a display case that currently held the two sonogram pictures they had gotten. Around the extensive perimeter of the room, there were many doors. One of them was along the same wall, and they guessed it led back to the antechamber. Eight of the doors had name placards to indicate the intended person to use it.

Haruka walked over to the one with her name on it, and when she opened the door, she found a massive walk-in closet full of her old clothes, and a whole plethora of new dresses, skirts and tops. In the center of the room was a circular sitting area with a remote controlled jewelry box in the center of the circle. There was also a dresser on one wall that held some more casual options like pants and t-shirts. Just as she was about to leaved, she noticed a white iPad laying on top of the couch, and it was addressed to her.

She left the plush room to see that each boy had a similar closet in different colors and design to fit their preferences. Tokiya's color theme was purple, black, and white. Ren's came in a variety of oranges and creams, and so on. Syo's closet was full of haute fashion while Masato's had more traditional options. Cecil's came in teals and had some more suitable clothes for the king. Each of them appeared to have received a color-coded iPad as well.

Otoya turned wide, excited eyes on her when he left his closet and held up his red iPad. Putting it down, and picking her up and twirling her around, the red-head brought the pink-haired beauty into a breath-taking kiss. "I'm so glad that I get to have a future with you. I want to stay with you forever on this journey. I love you, Haruka."

Haruka blushed at the heartfelt sentiment, before responding, "I love you too, Otoya." She gave him a quick peck on the lips before the eight of them got back to exploring their massive penthouse suite. There was a full en suite bathroom that was as big as the bedrooms downstairs. There was a hot tub sized bath, and a very large shower that could easily fit them all. There were several vanities against the walls, and a linen closet that was stocked with fluffy towels in a rainbow of colors. Each of the boys had their signature color and Haruka had white again.

After they finished exploring their new house, they all were extremely tired and jet-lagged, so they put on pajamas and curled up on the massive bed. The boys fought a little over who would sleep next to Haruka until she, or rather the hormones, threatened to make them all sleep downstairs if they kept her up any longer.

They behaved well after that. Syo ended up on her one side while Otoya took the other. Masato and Ren were on Syo's side while the other three were on Otoya's side. They all fell asleep rather quickly, not knowing the adventures the coming months would bring.

...xxXXxx...

Haruka continued going to her monthly check-ups, always careful to stay out of the public eye. The guys also refused to answer any question about her directly when they had interviews to do. When she was at seven months, they had another concert in order to distract the public from her and Cecil.

Ringo had never permanently come back from Agnapolis, he had stopped by the mansion one day when she was six and a half months in to tell them that he and Miki had started going out, and he left again a few days later with the promise to return in time for her baby shower.

Tomochika, Oba-chan, and the mothers were planning Haruka's baby shower, but it would be kept to within the family and friends. The date was set to be when Haruka was right past eight months, on September third.

Just last month, Ranmaru and Kaito had gotten engaged, and Haruka had a feeling that Kei might be popping the question to Tomochika soon. Despite only being together for three months, the two were so natural with each other, and they had moved in together one and a half months ago.

When the day of the baby shower came, Haruka was once again surrounded by her big, messy, but wonderful family. Miki couldn't make it, but she sent her love to her brother and sister-in-law. Ringo had gotten back a few days ago, and he had spent the whole morning decorating downstairs with help from the girls.

Haruka had gotten so big that she was waddling, and her ankles were swollen. The boys never ceased to assure her of how beautiful she was all the time, but it didn't make her feel any less like a whale.

The boys would be home in time for the party to start, but for now they were out at work. Ren and Tokiya had a commercial for men's underwear, Masato was doing voice-work for a new anime, Syo was with Otoya at the studio while they recorded a new duet Haruka had written. Cecil was on filming a variety show, and Natsuki was giving a performance of that samurai play he had practiced a few months ago.

Syo and Otoya were the first ones home, and they were roped into hanging last minute decorations around the house. Cecil got back shortly afterwards, placing a sweet kiss on her forehead before joining the other two. Ren and Tokiya returned home fifteen minutes later with dinner, and Masato and Natsuki made it home just in time to join them.

When the massive party had finished eating, they had gathered around to open presents. There was a stack of pastel-wrapped presents that covered one wall.

"Haruka, here, open ours first," Tomochika grinned, handing her a present from her and Kei. Inside the bag were ten pacifiers and two breast-feeding tops.

From Reiji, Ai, and Camus, they got a whole bunch of little blankets and newborn sized diapers.

"Thank you," Haruka smiled at the trio. As she reached for the next present, she winced.

Then her eyes widened and she let out a startled yelp. "They're coming!"

Everyone froze and the boys stared at the little puddle beneath her.

Haruka started taking deep breaths while Minori called Dr. Hihara and told her to get a room ready.

Tokiya and Otoya held her hands as she gave little squeezes. The two of them carried her between them and into the car. Ren swung into the driver's seat while Masato sat next to him to navigate.

"It's okay, Haru-chan, relax," Natauki tried to soothe as he knelt in front of her on the floor of the limo. Syo was backseat driving while Cecil rubbed her back soothingly.

As they took off towards the doctor, Haruka's breathing became more pained, and her grip tightened around Tokiya and Otoya's hands. They made no complaint, but just let her squeeze them like stress balls.

When they got there, staff was waiting with a wheelchair to take Haruka in. Minutes later, she was laying on a bed with the doctor across from her.

"You are definitely in labor," she was told. The normally sweet composer looked like was biting back a sarcastic comment. "Don't worry, the babies should be fully developed at this point. You're making history, getting this far with ten babies."

Haruka didn't feel like she was making hisroty, all she felt was pain. Haruka was almost crying as the contractions got worse, but she didn't want to take painkillers. Suddenly, she screamed again, almost breaking Tokiya's hand. Dr. Hihara analyzed her one more time before asking, "Are you ready to start pushing?"

Haruka whimpered and nodded. The boys looked heartbroken at the noises she was making, so they had to remind themselves that this would be worth it in the end, with them being fathers.

...xxXXxx...

After an hour of hard labor, the cries of their firstborn reached the world. "It's a girl!" the doctor announced. Before a nurse took the baby to be cleaned, Haruka caught a glimpse of rosy pink hair. Two minutes later, another little girl was born. She had dark blue hair, Tokiya noted. Haruka gave another cry when that little girl was taken to be cleaned, squeezing his hand still as she gave birth for the third time, but this time it was to a little boy with a shock of dark golden hair. The next two hours brought six more babies, but the last one was the hardest. After an hour had passed between the last of the first nine, Haruka, pale, tired, and sweaty, gave birth to the last little girl. This one had loose golden curls and wailed louder than any of the others had.

During her labor, the rest of the family had gathered in the waiting rooms, and they were getting antsy after not hearing anything for over four hours. Finally, when Haruka had gone to sleep, the boys left briefly to announce the birth of six little girls, and four little boys. The family let out wild cheers and relieved sighs, everyone was anxious to meet the little ones. As they spoke, doctors were using the latest technology to run instant paternity tests on the babies.

After giving the initial announcement, the new fathers were shocked to see HEAVENS among the people waiting.

"What are you guys doing here?" Syo asked, not really hiding the fact that they weren't happy to see the trio.

"I came to congratulate future brother-in-law," Nagi announced with no particular malice. Masato then noticed that the runt was holding hands with his sister. The eighteen-year-old girl blushed, but continued holding hands with the nineteen-year-old idol.

Masato gave his father an accusatory glare, but Masaomi just shook his head. "It was her choice."

Eiichi and Kira stood off to the side, but Eiichi looked defeated, probably since he knew he had no chance with Haruka at all anymore.

Shrugging at last, the boys returned to join their room to see their babies up close. When they returned, Haruka was just waking up, and all ten babies were sleeping in bassinets along the wall of the room. They had been placed in the order they were born from right to left (like manga).

Six pink bundles and four blue ones. The reality of being a father hit Tokiya, Ren, and Masato hard. They looked down at the tiny little faces of their sleeping angels, and started crying tears of joy.

Haruka smiled weakly at them while Syo helped her sit up. A few minutes later, a nurse returned with an envelope containing the results of the paternity test.

"Will you do the honors, Lady?" Ren asked.

Haruka gingerly opened the envelope and pulled out a sheaf of paper. She scanned the results before announcing the results. "The first two little girls are Tokiya's. The third child is Ren's son. Then Masato's daughter. Cecil had the next two, identical twin boys. Syo has the little girl, seventh born. The next two are Otoya's; a boy and a girl. And finally, the last little girl is Natsuki's.

The boys just stood there for a minute. Then the started congratulating each other because they each ended up with at least one child, no one was left out. The laughed and hugged, each of them took a turn kissing Haruka. When they each went to their children, Haruka watched their faces light up. Tokiya was smiling wider than she had ever seen before, Ren looked like he was about to melt into a puddle of love, Masato looked scared out of his mind, but still somehow happy. Cecil was beaming genuinely for the first time since his father's passing, Syo was already using baby-talk, Otoya was laughing as his son burbled something, and Natsuki just stood there, cradling his daughter like she was the most precious thing in the universe.

"What are we going to name them?" Haruka asked as Tokiya gently handed her their first-born. Tokiya gazed down at the pair lovingly as he held his other daughter. "I was thinking about Minako for the pink haired girl because she has her mother's beauty, and Utau for this little one since she has strong lungs, I could tell by her cries." Haruka smiled down at the pink-hared, golden-eyed baby in her arms. "Hello, Minako. This is your Mommy speaking. I've been waiting a long time to meet you and your siblings. Now I can be together with you and your sister, Utau." The blue-haired girl in Tokiya's arms blinked at her with the same amber eyes.

"I want to name our son Kiyoshi because he has your pure eyes, Lady," Ren added softly as he gently rocked their son. The little boy had honey colored eyes and Ren's golden brown hair.

Masato looked down at his daughter. "I've always been partial to the name, Ayane," he murmured. His pink-haired princess had been staring at him with identical deep blue eyes, as if waiting, but when he announced her name, she burbled happily and giggled. Everyone would later swear that he had melted on the spot, but Masato always said that a samurai does not melt.

Cecil watched as his identical twin boys wiggled around in their bassinets. "Haruka, help me name our little boys," he requested. Haruka pondered this for a moment,

"What about Akio for one of them, with the kanji for 'hero', and Hibiki for the other, using the kanji for 'sound'?"

Cecil swept Akio up, twirling him slowly. "You see the wonderful names your Mama has picked out for you? Akio, our little warrior, and Hibiki, the musician. I can see it now." Akio just looked at him, but Hibiki giggled along with his father. Both of them were the spitting image of Cecil.

Syo decided to name his daughter Miku. He insisted it had nothing to do with his love of Vocaloid, but that he just loved the name since it meant 'beautiful generation'. Miku had pinkish hair with streaks of blonde mixed in, and she had her father's cerulean orbs.

Otoya named his daughter Ami, and she looked like one of Haruka's favorite anime characters, Sailor Chibi Moon, since the little girl had pink hair and ruby eyes. Their son had thick red hair and bright golden eyes, so he was named Hikaru.

Natsuki was still cradling his daughter close to his chest. "You are my heart, my soul, my beautiful little Kokoro," he told her gently. The little blonde baby had heterochromia. One eye was bright amber, and the other shone like an emerald. Haruka found it adorable and special.

Looking around the room, she gazed lovingly at her new family. She watched as they all interacted with the babies, the boys paid attention to every baby, not really caring if it was theirs. She could get used to this she thought as she cradled Minako still. Her family, her babies, her love. Everything was alright. Everything would be alright. They were together, they were her home, her heart, her everything.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Again, I apologize for the wait, so I present to you my longest chapter ever. The style of this chapter was a bit different. I used less dialogue, and I moved the plot along pretty quickly, but I hope you guys enjoy the story. Thank you so much for your continued support! You guys are awesome. This was not the last chapter, I think there will be one more chapter at least, but thank you for sticking with me this long. I actually cried to myself when I killed Sohrab. **

**Anyway, the up next will be some growing family fluff through the years, ending with a big debut, and the conflict with the press and stuff will be solved. There will be more kids, and some close calls. Stay tuned to find out!**


	13. Epilogue

**A/N: To everyone reading this, thank you guys so much for sticking with me throughout this fan-fiction! Your reviews and support always helped me to keep writing. Thank you guys for motivating me to complete my longest story, because I usually don't get this far (*cough* my Sailor Moon fanfic *cough*). You guys have been just awesome, so I am proud to present to you, the epilogue of Utapri: The Next Generation.**

**Disclaimer: This series may not be mine, but this story has helped me grow as a writer. Please enjoy my FANfiction.**

The first night home was the hardest. After returning from the hospital, the new parents had finished opening the baby shower gifts. Plenty of clothes (including traditional wear from Masaomi and Noriko), bottles, pacifiers, toys, bibs, and other trinkets now littered the family room along with an assortment of wrapping paper scraps and empty gift bags. After dozens of thank-you phone calls, the exhausted adults managed to get all of the babies upstairs, and they were in the nursery.

Haruka, Tokiya, and Otoya were putting the babies into pajamas after Cecil, Natsuki, and Masato changed their diapers. Haruka was weary from breast-feeding earlier, she couldn't imagine that she now had to do it every day, multiple times per day, for ten fussy babies. Once the little ones had been put into onesies, Ren and Syo picked them up and gently placed them in their cribs. (It seemed that once the genders were known, Shining had had someone put the right bedding in the cribs.) Just because the two were gently placing the babies, didn't mean the babies were cooperating. Ren was currently holding Akio, and the little prince just flat-out refused to be put down. Every time Ren lowered the baby toward the mattress, wails of protest stopped him short. Syo was having a similar problem with Minako.

The tiny carbon-copy of Haruka was not happy, and she let everyone know. She thrashed around, putting Syo on edge. Eventually, he was able to put her down on the pale lavender sheets safely, but she still cried, and it took everyone's willpower not to pick her up again.

After another hour of struggling, all of the babies were in their respective cribs, and the adults were almost crying in relief that they were all asleep. Then they heard a small whimper, and they all waited with bated breath, but thankfully the babies did not wake. Haruka collapsed on their bed as soon as she put on her pajamas. She was still worn out from giving birth yesterday, but she had a feeling the fun was only beginning.

Sure enough, someone started whimpering over the baby monitor sometime after midnight, and as soon as the one started wailing, the others woke up crying as well.

Natsuki was usually a very heavy sleeper (like the dead), but he bolted upright with the others when tiny cries came from the adjoining room. Haruka scurried into the room, trying to figure out what they needed. The eight finally found that Kiyoshi was the one who had started crying, because he was hungry again.

Haruka scooped her son up, careful to support his tiny head, and she rocked him in her arms for a minute as she went over to the rocking chair. Slipping down one of the straps of her tank top, she bared her breast to the baby who immediately latched on. When he was done, she was careful to grab a burping cloth before she began patting him on the back.

When she finished with her oldest son, she fed the others. She eventually realized she should be feeding them two at a time, and the guys helped her through the night. It was very late, or very early, when they finished taking care of the new arrivals and could finally curl up in bed again. Unfortunately, more cries woke them shortly before sunrise.

The next morning brought unwelcome news. The front pages of all the newspapers were raving about the babies. Not only was it a world record for one woman to give birth to ten children at once, but they were celebrities, heirs, and nobles too. Shining gathered them shortly after breakfast so they could work on a game plan.

Two days later, STARISH held a press conference. The guys really wanted to be home with Haruka, but they had to address this topic before it festered and became too wild. Luckily, QUARTET NIGHT and even HEAVENS were at the manor helping Haruka out.

"So what you are saying is that all of STARISH, and Mrs. Aijima are currently engaged in a polyamorous relationship?" one news reporter tried to confirm.

"Yes," Tokiya replied calmly, too calmly. "We are all in love with our composer, and her children are all of ours."

The press had a field day, and the results were mixed for a while. Many people sent them well-wishes, others told them that they were going to Hell; though no one dared to insult Haruka after the first person who tried was almost killed on the spot by glares. Some of the fangirls expressed their displeasure about them all being taken, but it soon died down because STARISH wouldn't have happened without Haruka, so many fangirls began worshipping her (Haruka never got used to that one).

The names and official bios of the babies came out soon after the press conference.

_"Ichinose Minako- Daughter of Ichinose Tokiya (HAYATO) and Queen Nanami (Aijima) Haruka. Heiress to the Ichinose family estate. Granddaughter of Ichinose Rima, a renowned seiyuu, and Ichinose Nagihiko, the choreographer who brought us "Madame Butterfly: Nights of Old"._

_Ichinose Utau- Second daughter of Ichinose Tokiya and Nanami Haruka. Joint heiress with her fraternal twin sister. She and her sister are the goddaughters of Kotobuki Reiji._

_Jinguji Kiyoshi- Son of Jinguji Ren and Nanami Haruka. One heir to the Jinguji Conglomerate. He is the godson of the popular rock artist, KAITO (Nanami Kaito) and his fiancé, Kurosaki Ranmaru, QUARTET NIGHT's own edgy rocker._

_Hijirikawa Ayane- Daughter of Hijirikawa Masato and Nanami Haruka. One heir to the Hijirikawa Conglomerate. The goddaughter of Mikado Nagi of HEAVENS and his fiancee, Hijirikawa Mai._

_Aijima Akio- Elder son of Aijima Cecil and Nanami Haruka. Crown Prince of Agnapolis. The older of the identical princes._

_Aijima Hibiki- Second son of Aijima Cecil and Nanami Haruka. Prince of Agnapolis. He and his twin are the godsons of Count Camus of Permafrost._

_Kurusu Miku- Daughter of Kurusu Syo and Nanami Haruka. Granddaughter of Kurusu Yuki, the famous orchestra violinist, and Kurusu Kaname, the head stylist for New Styelle industries. Goddaughter of Hyuuga Ryuuya._

_Ittoki Ami- The elder child of Ittoki Otoya and Nanami Haruka. Granddaughter of Shining Saotome and former Queen, Aijima Kotomi. Goddaughter of world-class idol, Shibuya Tomochika and her future husband, Nanami Kei (Nanami Haruka's brother)._

_Ittoki Hikaru- Son of Ittoki Otoya and Nanami Haruka. See Ittoki Ami for more information. An heir to Saotome Entertainment and its affiliates._

_Shinomiya Kokoro- Daughter of Shinomiya Natsuki and Nanami Haruka. Viscountess of Sault, France. Goddaughter of Mikaze Ai of QUARTET NIGHT. "_

The newspapers were running the breaking news on the famous, unconventional family for a long while, and the public couldn't get enough of the drama or the cuteness.

Days turned to weeks, and the young family began to fall into a routine. Eventually, they worked out a system where Haruka and one of them were pulling night duty while the others slept in spare rooms downstairs. This went on until the babies could have formula, during which time Haruka entered the cycle with the boys to sleep downstairs, and then she would only have to breast-feed during the day.

Unfortunately, Haruka was still rarely able to catch a break, so twice a month, the extended family would come by and take care of the babies so the parents could go out on their own. Miki even managed to come by with Ringo when the babies were three months old.

Shortly after the birth, Shining had come to visit his grandchildren, and he came with some paperwork.

"Here," he said as he passed a manila folder to Haruka. "I have been in contact with the prime minister in regards to your unusual situation, and after some negotiation, I managed to procure this for you guys. Think of it as another token of my gratitude for expanding my family."

Haruka pulled the papers out, and her amber eyes scanned the papers quickly. Her jaw dropped, "Th-this is-,"

"A marriage license," Shining agreed with a nod. "You are now legally able to marry the other six members of STARISH."

Haruka hugged her soon to be father-in-law with tears in her eyes. "Thank you."

Soon after the visit from Shining, STARISH had another concert, this one included all of the songs Haruka had composed while she was pregnant, and when the concert was over, the guys made an announcement.

"We would like to invite our lovely girlfriend up to the stage now," Ren purred, making the fangirls squeal.

Cecil picked up where Ren left off. "Please give a warm welcome to Nanami Haruka, our beloved composer and the mother of our children!"

The crowd erupted in cheers as Tokiya took her hand as he led her onstage. Haruka was blushing like crazy as all seven guys knelt before her and asked in unison, "Nanami Haruka, will you marry us?"

Haruka started crying tears of joy as she nodded. The crowd went wild as the fans shouted their congratulations to the lovers.

The wedding was a grand event. Nothing less was to be expected when so many people in the family were internationally famous idols and celebrities. The guest list included friends, family, and business associates. Cecil completed the ceremony with Haruka as well even though they were already legally married, but this time it felt real. They had a seven tiered cake with white, buttercream icing and raspberry filling. The decorations on each tier represented one of the boys, and the top was for Haruka.

Her dress was a light, creamy-white color with a sweetheart neckline and an empire waist, that emphasized her sizable bust without featuring her stomach which still had some baby fat from four months prior. Each spouse had a silver band with STARISH inscribed in the ring and a small gem of their signature color set in the band. Haruka's ring was similar, but she had a larger diamond set with two smaller ones on either side.

The honeymoon was shortened to a weekend considering the babies. All of the newlyweds' mothers stayed at the manor over to take care of the babies while STARISH and their wife went on a short trip to nearby island that Shining owned. The two and a half days of relaxation would have been better if the newlyweds could relax, but as with most new parents, worry over the babies left them eager to be home.

Time passed slowly at first, and then much to quickly. As the babies began crawling, the boys felt like time was slipping away. Cecil had been doubly busy trying to help Miki out with diplomacy while keeping up with STARISH and working as a seiyuu for a new otome game that would be coming out soon. Otoya had been requested to do a TV drama, so he was often out of the house, filming. Syo was doing a play with Ren at the Tokyo Performing Arts Hall, and Haruka made sure she was able to catch one performance. Tokiya had been working on a solo album at the request of the Agency, and Natsuki was doing seiyuu work with Masato, but they were able to do it from home mostly thanks to the recording studios in the manor.

One night, when the babies were almost nine months, Haruka was in the playroom with Tokiya, Natsuki, and Masato. As she sat with Ayane, the little girl stared up at her mother with inquisitive eyes. "Ma...ma," she announced as she pulled on Haruka's skirt.

The four parents paused what they were doing to stare at the little pinkette. "Ma-ma," she repeated as they watched her. Masato and the other two dads broke out into wide grins as their daughter said her first word.

Haruka picked up the little angel and twirled her around. "That's right, Aya-chan. Mama is here! Oh you are so cute," Haruka giggled.

Ayane giggled back as she was spun around. Ren came in soon afterward with Syo just behind him. They were overjoyed as well to hear about Ayane talking. Across the room, from his playpen, Kiyoshi started whining.

Ren walked over to his son and scooped up the little golden-eyed infant. "O-to-sa," he insisted from his father's arms. Ren looked at Kiyoshi in surprise.

"What was that?" he asked, not really expecting a response.

Kiyoshi looked right a him, "Oto-sa!"

Everyone looked at the little boy. "He's trying to say Oto-san," Ren murmured in glee. He bounced Kiyoshi on his hip. "I'd say you're a daddy's boy, but Otoya is Daddy," Ren laughed as he handed his son to his wife.

Everyone had agreed that the boys should not all be called 'Dad' or 'Daddy' because it would get too confusing, so they each had a title. Ren is Oto-san, Otoya is Daddy, Tokiya is Dad, Cecil is Baba, Masato is Father, Syo is Papa, and Natsuki is Oto-chan (A/N: I realize that oto-chan and oto-san are the equivalent of daddy and dad, but please just go with it, I ran out of titles).

Soon enough, all of the kids had begun talking and some were even beginning to walk by the time they reached their first birthday. When September third rolled around, the manor entry-way was flooded with presents for the ten toddlers. On the actual day, all of STARISH made sure to clear their schedules. The entire family was there to celebrate.

Kaito and Ranmaru were present and now married. Kei stood with Tomochika who was currently expecting one of her own. Mai and Nagi were also among the married couples, and Ringo and Miki would be joining them soon. That's right, Ringo had popped the question a few weeks prior, and the citizens of Agnapolis were more than happy to arrange the grand event.

The grandparents were sure to shower their legacies with love and attention. Even Masomi was caught baby-talking to Ayane and Hikaru. The party was hectic, but the family was all together again.

Three months later, Tomochika gave birth to a little boy named Mori. He got Kei's eyes and Tomochika's fiery red hair. As time continued passing, Mori began playing with the ten, and by the time the kids reached the age of two, the little group almost refused to let Mori leave when their play dates were over.

At the kids' second birthday, Haruka was six months pregnant. During her second pregnancy, things were a lot easier since she was only expecting twins. Shortly before she gave birth for the second time, Kaito and Ranmaru adopted a little boy who they named Ayato. The little boy has dark green hair and silver eyes that seem to stare right through whomever they are aimed at. Ayato was two when they adopted, so he was quickly brought in to the group of toddlers. Ranmaru was nervous about having children at first, but a few months into parenting, he was already spoiling his son. Kaito leaned against his lover as they watched Ayato play with Ami and Hibiki before whispering, "We really do have the best family." With that he turned and gave the silver-haired man a quick peck on the lips before returning to watch the amazing scene before them.

Haruka's twins were identical little boys who were the spitting image of their father. With dark blue hair and light blue eyes, they were the spitting image of Tokiya as a baby. Rima still loves to compare her grandsons to pictures of her boys as babies. Ikuto had been Tokiya's fraternal twin, but they both had the same dark blue locks. In honor of his late brother, Tokiya asked Haruka if they could name one of the boys Ikuto. Haruka had readily agreed, and so when the baby boys were born, they were named Hayato and Ikuto, respectively. Haruka went into labor with them just before midnight on New Year's Eve, and Hayato was born at 11:57 PM that night, and Ikuto was born at 12:02 AM of the next day/year.

Ringo and Miki joined in becoming parents just after Haruka had the twins. Miki gave birth to a little girl named Kokone, she was born with beautiful mocha skin, light pink hair, and wide cocoa colored eyes. From the first time she met him, Kokone became very attached to Kiyoshi despite the age difference and how infrequently they got to see each other. The crush is still going strong today.

Through the years, the family continued expanding rapidly. Following the twins, Haruka gave birth to a little princess named Kimiko. Like her older brothers, Kimiko got her father's brown hair, but she has her mother's beautiful golden eyes. Coincidentally, she was born on Emperor's Day (4/29), hence her name meaning empress.

Otoya was the next to have another child with Haruka. Ittoki Kazuki was born on April 12th, almost one year after Kimiko's birth. The little boy was like a carbon coby of Otoya, and he was just as boisterous. After Kazuki's birth, the family took a vacation to their home in California for the second time since it was built. The house is lovely, but traveling with small children is a tough task even when there are as many parents as the Nanami Children (as the press refers to them collectively) have. After Kokoro almost burned the house down with Natsuki, the family had headed home.

By the time the oldest ten were fifteen, they had gotten ten additional siblings. Three years after Kazuki, the first of six more children were born. Ren's daughter, Hoshine, was born on Valentine's day just like her Oto-san. She had her mother's pretty pink locks, and her father's piercing blue eyes. Hoshi has Ren wrapped completely around her finger, and she loves to be the center of attention whenever possible.

The following year, Hijirikawa Satoru entered the world during the dawn of Children's Day (5/5). His full sister, Yumemi is his Irish twin since she was born less than a year after him on the day of the Doll's Festival (3/3). Both had Masato's rich blue hair, but while Satoru had the sun in his eyes, Yumemi's were blue like the sea. Haruka didn't get a break there though. On Christmas the same year Yumemi was born, she gave birth to a premature baby boy. Natsuki named him Kiseki since the baby survived and was their Christmas miracle. Kiseki has pink hair, which he finds embarrassing, and eyes as green as emeralds.

Syo finally got another child with Haruka when they had a son named Ryuu. Ryuu was born two years following Kiseki, but with a weak heart like Syo. He has his father's appearance, and he is a fighter, so he never let that slow him down in life. Uncle Kaoru, a cardiologist, has been helping him since he was born.

The last child Haruka gave birth to was Tsubomi, Haruka and Tokiya's youngest. She was born in September like her oldest siblings, but her birthday is on the twentieth, a date that was very fitting since she was the twentieth and final child in the family. Tsubomi was born prematurely like Kiseki, and the doctor's thought that it would be best for Haruka to stop having children. Even though she was premature and tiny, she pulled through, and Tokiya has been pampering her ever since she got home from the hospital. His tiny little princess has him wrapped around her chubby little pinky.

Somewhere in all the chaos of the Nanami children, Tomochika had given birth to her and Kei's second child. This time it was a little girl named Atsumi, a little spitfire with wavy purple hair and her mother's eyes. Besides them, Mai and Nagi had had a son. The little brunette has his mother's eyes pretty blue eyes, and was named Mikado Yaten.

...xxXXxx...

"Today's the day, right, Tokiya?" Eiichi asked as the two were finishing up on the set of a TV show.

Tokiya flashed his co-worker a rare grin as he affirmed, "Today's the day."

Across town, Tadase and Natsuki were standing in an empty concert hall, looking out at the seats. "It's really happening," Natsuki said proudly.

"They earned this," Tadase added.

In the control room behind the scenes, Shining stood with his son. "Today is the day we have been waiting for," Otoya said nervously as he wrung his hands.

"Today is the day they will rise," Shining assured as he placed and arm around Otoya's shoulders.

Back in the manor, Haruka was taking care of some of her younger children as they ran around the house. Ren and Cecil were there to help with the toddler wrangling. When they got all of the kids under ten were properly dressed, the three parents led the ten younger kids out to the waiting limo. "Come now," Haruka urged her kids, "we don't want to be late to this."

Tsubomi sat in her car seat, her light purple hair was pulled into pigtails with blue ribbons to complement her eyes. Beside her, Kiseki and Satoru were playing with their stuffed animals and action figures while Kazuki and the twins played on their GameBoys. Yumemi had entered the 'why?' phase, and now she wanted to know why everything was the way it was. Ryuu just played with his own plush toy from his own car seat. As the limo pulled out of the driveway, Haruka held back tears, feeling like everything was simultaneously ending, and just beginning.

Syo and Masato were already waiting at the concert hall when the rest of their family arrived. The show would begin soon; today was the day. They day they had all been waiting for, the day Shining had waited sixteen years for. The large group headed backstage to see Tokiya, Natsuki, and Otoya waiting in the dressing room.

"Are they already waiting to go on?" Cecil asked in surprise as he looked around.

Kokoro popped her head into the dressing room when she heard voices. "Mom!" she grinned, rushing up to her mom and pulling her in for a tight hug. "I'm so excited, we've been waiting for this day for so long. Akio and I really went all in for the composing, and I can't wait to see how they do!"

Then she looked at her fathers, "Hi Dad, Daddy, Oto-chan, Oto-san, Papa, Baba. Oh, Father, Grandfather was looking for you. He is with Aunt Mai and that group. Should be near the front row. Oh, and if you guys are looking for the others, Poppy (Shining) is giving them a last minute pep talk, and Akio is flirting with one of the choreographers." The adults tried to keep up with her super fast talking.

Masato left to find Masomi, and Haruka went to get the kids situated before the show began.

Normally Tsubomi would make a fuss, but she seemed to understand that today something very special would be happening. Tokiya took a seat with the kids a little while later, so Haruka went to find her older children.

She found them standing beside the curtains. Shining was still there, but now the teens were talking amongst themselves. Haruka cleared her throat, and they turned to look at their mom.

"I am so very proud of you guys, you've been working hard for this day. So I want you to go out there and knock their socks off!" The eight performers mobbed Haruka for a group hug. Off to the side, their composers, Kokoro and Akio, were grinning widely. Eventually, the kids pulled back and took their places on the darkened stage. They waved as Kokoro and Akio left with the others to take their seats.

After a few minutes, the curtain began to rise, revealing the massive crowd that was waiting for them to start. A hush spread through the amphitheater. The Nanami kids managed to see their family, the whole big, messy, wonderful combination of people that raised them and grew up with them. Kiyoshi saw Kokone, and he thought back to the last time he saw her.

*Flashback*

Kiyoshi was kind of bored, he was sitting alone in the garden, practicing his saxophone playing, but he wanted to do something else. Suddenly he looked up when his sun was blocked only to find a very familiar girl standing in front of him.

"What do you want Kokone?" he tried, and failed, not to sound annoyed.

Kokone gave him a pouty look as she tossed her pretty pink hair over her shoulder. "I just wanted to, um, wish you luck. You know, for the concert coming up. I should be able to be there, but I might not get a chance to say this when the time comes. Anyway, I'll just leave now. I should be going anyway. Got a plane to catch and all."

Kiyoshi knew that wasn't really true since the plane would wait for her, and he felt guilty about be rude. Unfortunately, he hesitated for too long, and Kokone was gone when he looked up again.

*End Flashback*

Now as he looked out to the crowd, he found Kokone watching him, so he winked, making her blush and causing his Aunt Miki to glare at him. That just made the boy give a cocky smile. Ren felt a surge of pride, this boy was definitely his.

To Kiyoshi's right, Ami was having a telepathic conversation with Hikaru. The two of them were giving each other looks as if to say:

"Can you believe how many people are here?"

To which he conveyed, "I'm getting stage fright."

Ami glared at him at first, but then gave him a sympathetic look. She understood what he must be feeling, they had never performed in front of such a crowd before, and she knew from experience that imagining people in their underwear only made things weirder. She shuddered as she remembered that one class project; never again!

Miku watched Minako closely. The two pink-haired girls had always been close, and now they would be putting all of their hard work to the test. Tonight would make it or break it for them, and Miku could see Mina's shaking hands as the curtain moved.

She briefly remembered a few days ago when Kazuki had burst into the music room when Minako had finished playing a piece on the piano. The eleven-year-old had appeared so suddenly that the girl had screamed and dropped all of her sheet music. Miku had laughed as her two siblings scrambled to pick up the sheets again. They were later joined by Satoru as he came in to practice as well. The kid may be young, but he is as serious as their Father. Miku sighed as she spotted him sitting next to Yumemi in the crowd. While the little girl was grinning from ear to ear in excitement, he looked nervous beyond belief, which she found humorous considering she was onstage, not him.

When Satoru caught his big sister staring at him, he forced a grin and gave a nervous thumbs up before turning to see how Ayane was faring.

The eldest grandchild of Hijirikawa Masaomi looked right at ease on the stage. Satoru couldn't help but think that his onee-chan had been born for this (little did he know). Meanwhile, Kimiko was focused on Hibiki, her easy-going onii-chan still looked like a grinning idiot. She knew that he was much better suited for performing than Akio, but it saddened her slightly that the identical princes wouldn't be onstage together. Looking down the row, she saw Akio looking nervous. He may not be performing, but the songs were as much his as they were Kokoro's, and they would be unveiled publicly for the first time. He had to be anxious to see if he could prove himself to be as good as their mother.

Finally, the spotlights came one, and in the front, center stage was Utau. Her spiky blue hair was clipped up in a messy bun that left her bangs to frame her pretty face. She clutched the mic stand as everyone held their breath. Her sharp, amber eyes stared out into the audience, like a jolt of electricity, so similar and yet so different from Haruka's warm honey gaze.

She flashed a wicked grin. She looked like she was ready to rock in her white jean shorts, her black lace-up boots, and her purple camisole that showed under the white jacket. The fifteen-year-old girl opened her mouth, and whispered, "Are you ready?"

**The End!**

**A/N: Thank you guys for staying with this story, it has been a wonderful experience that has really helped me grow as an author. I hope you all enjoyed the story. Let me know who your favorite child was if you want, I'd like to know if you have one. Anyway, until next time!-Raine out!**


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